Wannabe Student
by The Shrubbery King
Summary: Lewis isn't exactly sure how or why he ended up at Honnouji Academy, or why his scarf is talking to him, or what'll happen if he actually talks to any of the main characters. What he does know however is that he wants a front row seat to all the sickass fights that are about to happen right in front of him! Preferably without actually getting involved in any of them.
1. Chapter 1

Way outside the bounds of Honnouji Academy, a single person awoke. Scratching his head, he got up and took stock of his surroundings.

"The bloody hell am I now? And what the hell is that?" he asked himself before looking around. After a few seconds his brain finally caught up with him, recognising the massive building at the top. "Oh no."

The boy sat down on one end of the bridge, grumbling to himself for a while, trying to make sense of everything.

"Okay, what the hell am I doing in the Kill la Kill universe? More importantly, what the hell am I going to do now that I am here?"

The figure stood up and dusted off his clothes, a white t-shirt, a pair of black cargo pants, his black and yellow tartan scarf and a black polyester vest. Resting not too far from where he woke up was a neatly folded school uniform, a brown leather case and a pile of schoolbooks topped by a pencil case and an envelope bearing the insignia of Honnouji Academy.

"What's this?" he asked, opening the envelope.

'You have been selected to become one of Lady Satsuki Kiriuin's loyal followers. Classes start at 8:00AM at Honnouji Academy. Your homeroom is Class G. Lateness will result in death.'

"D-death?" he gulped as he looked at the letter. Checking his watch, he saw that it was only 7:23 AM. "Well, I'd best get moving. I just hope I'm at a part of the timeline where I can get in unnoticed. I'd also better put on that new uniform."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

As he began climbing the many, many, MANY steps up to the very top of the fabricated mountain to reach Honnouji Academy, the boy started seeing small figures darting in and out of alleys.

'Right. I'm in the slums at the moment aren't I?' he thought to himself. 'If that's true, then I guess I'll be pickpocketed any mi-'

The boy was suddenly distracted as something barrelled forcefully into his back, sending him stumbling as a small child ran by.

"Sorry mister!" he called behind him, but his target was already sprinting towards him.

"Get back here you little pile of crap!" he roared before catching up to the tiny cutpurse and delivering a solid kick to his head.

"Ow! What was that for you asshole?!" he shouted back as the much taller boy picked his wallet back up off the ground.

"For trying to steal this you little… Oh." He said before spotting the group of well armed children behind him. The pickpocket gained a vicious grin before pointing at the taller boy.

"Okay scarf man, hand over everything you've got or we'll tear you to shreds!" he shouted.

"My name is Lewis." The taller boy spat before the roar of the chainsaw rattled his teeth. He would need to think of something and fast. He wasn't nearly well armed enough to take on this many people, no matter their age. Summoning a large burst of air, Lewis started shouting as loud as he possibly could. "What a disgrace! A child turned to mugging people and skipping school?! Truly you are a disgrace to the Mankanshoku name!"

The boy looked extremely startled for a moment at Lewis sudden outburst, but then he realised what he'd said.

"MATAROOOOOO!" could have been heard from anywhere in the ghetto area as the kid looked around franticly.

"Uh oh, that's Mom! Crap, you've gotten me in trouble!" he panicked before growling. "Listen you, I'm gonna-"

But Lewis was already long gone, sprinting towards yet more stairs up to Honnouji Academy.

"Freakin'… Children… Chainsaws… Never again!" Lewis panted as he climbed the ever-steeper flights of stairs, eventually feeling safe enough to slow down and catch a breather. "Okay. I wonder what I should do here."

Lewis knew the Kill la Kill storyline quite well, and he definitely didn't want to go meddling in the intricately crafted plot by Satsuki. Even mentioning any detail of the plan to quite literally anyone would spell disaster for him, and quite possibly Satsuki's plan as well.

"So do I join her ranks? Nah, that'd make me an enemy of Ryuko, and I definitely don't want that. So do I join her?" he thought aloud as he walked, deep in thought. "Actually no, I don't want to get interrogated if I accidentally let something slip. So what about… no, if they knew I knew about them they'd immediately get suspicious, do a background check and find literally nothing. They'd be the ones doing the interrogation. Not to mention I'm a fan of wearing pants."

Lewis continued walking up the stairs for the longest of time, thinking about what he would do.

"Okay, it looks like the pros outweigh the cons here. Looks like I'll be playing dumb as one of Satsuki's goons then." He sighed. "I just hope she doesn't try to get me to fight Ryuko, that'd be the end of me for sure."

As Lewis climbed the stairs, he arrived at the top. The gargantuan gateway of Honnouji Academy yawned before him, a maw of oppression and fear brought about by the iron reign of one Class-A Crazy Bitch. Steeling himself, Lewis took a breath and stepped through the blinding light and into the giant courtyard.

Only to find that a fight had just ended.

Ira Gamagori stood at one end of the courtyard ordering around a group of One Stars, thankfully facing away from Lewis.

'Oh crap. Oh crapohcrapohcrap.' Lewis panicked. 'Okay, I just have to move around him and just go into the academy. I mean, I can pass for a normal student here. I'm totally not a spy anyway, I've got nobody to report to. Easy does it, nice and slow…'

However, things didn't go as smoothly as Lewis had hoped. Gamagori turned around, trademark fire in his eyes. Lewis squeaked a little before looking behind him, finding himself surrounded by One Star Students!

"Uh oh…" he gulped as Gamagori strode over.

"Who are you?!" he bellowed, soon towering above Lewis. "Are you an accomplice of that maggot who stole a Goku Uniform?!"

'Is that where I am at the timeline? The very start? Oh jeez, this is gonna be a rough ride…' Lewis thought. "N-no! Of course not, I only just got here!"

"So you're late!" he assumed, picking Lewis up by the collar with his giant hands. "Do you know what we do to tardy people around here?!"

"I'm not late, I was never a part of this academy before today!" Lewis desperately shouted, waving the paper he'd gotten from the envelope.

Gamagori dropped Lewis to the ground, closely studying the document.

'God, I thought this guy was intimidating in the anime!' Lewis gulped, seeing how Gamagoori's giant frame seemed to block out the sun. 'Just how tall is this bastard?'

"Everything seems to be in order." Gamagori frowned at Lewis and snorted. "We shall be keeping an eye on you."

With that, Gamagori turned and left, his small army of One Stars going with him. Lewis stood up and brushed himself off before looking up to the platform high above Honnouji Academy.

"Well that could have gone better." Lewis shrugged as he walked towards the academy proper.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

In his classes, Lewis found that it was alarmingly similar to his normal school. He'd do the work true enough, but eventually he got side-tracked with a personal project. Currently he was trying to think of a way to survive the academy. And Satsuki.

'Okay, lemme weigh my options a bit more. I shouldn't join up with Ryuko since that'll mess with the timeline. Joining a club will probably get my ass beaten into the ground by Ryuko, and that's something I don't want. So no Goku Uniform for me. But how the hell am I going to protect myself? Even if I stay out of Satsuki's way, there's still going to be people who want to pick a fight with me. Hmmm…'

Lewis was eventually disturbed from his thoughts by somebody thumping their hands down on his desk. That somebody appeared to be one of the identical One Stars, but he had a cocky grin on his face.

"You're the newest transfer student huh? You don't look much to me." He snorted.

"Good for you." Lewis said as he rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair.

"Are you disrespecting me punk? I may be only a One Star but I'm leagues above you, worm!" he shouted, slamming his hands on the desk again.

"Do I look like I care about your petty ranking? Even if you were the greatest fighter in the universe, I'm still not going to care." Lewis frowned.

"Are you saying that you don't respect Lady Satsuki?" he said loudly.

"Now there you go putting words in my mouth." Lewis growled, standing up. "I have a feeling you're picking a fight just to get me into trouble aren't you?"

"And what if I am?" the One Star asked, cracking his knuckles.

'Wait, am I about to get into a fight?' Lewis thought. 'Okay, lemme weigh the statistics. I have little experience in actually fighting, very little physical strength, no Goku Uniform to speak of and no weapon. Getting into a fight is a bad idea right now.'

"So? What are you going to do?" the One Star asked.

Lewis sighed and sat back down. "You know what? Forget it. Fighting you is pointless and will only serve to get me in trouble."

"Looks like you didn't read the rulebook you coward." The One Star smirked, holding up his own copy. "Those students who are too weak to fight do not deserve to live! That is one of Honnouji Academy's ironclad rules!"

"Weak?" Lewis asked, a vein starting to pronounce itself in his forehead as he stood up again. "True enough I'm not the strongest, but by no means am I weak."

The One Star grinned and cracked his knuckles again. "Let's see you prove it then!"

Lewis stood up and pushed his desk away. "You first."

The One Star lunged for a punch and Lewis barely made it out of the way of the surprisingly quick strike. Lewis retaliated with a punch but the other student made a lightning fast dodge out of the way.

"You're far too slow to hit me! You may as well leave now!" the One Star crowed.

Lewis grasped the One Star by his collar and elbowed him in the jaw, sending him stumbling backwards over an overturned desk. The student got back up and wiped his jaw with his sleeve.

"Lucky hit newbie. You'll not get me a second time!" he roared, charging at Lewis.

Lewis tried to sidestep him, but was caught in a tackle as he and the other student toppled to the ground. The One Star tried to punch Lewis while he was down, but Lewis raised his arms to protect himself in a boxing guard to protect himself.

"You're not good enough! You'll neve-" the One Star said before being cut off by Lewis' swift jab to the throat.

Coughing and spluttering, the One Star got off Lewis and he jumped back to his feet.

"Trash talking is for those who aren't confident in their own abilities." Lewis said, dusting himself off. "If you really want to fight, shut up. You're only serving to annoy me."

The One Star glowered as he launched back into another attack, significantly faster. Lewis was able to deflect a few blows, but a few snuck through his guard and landed, winding and bruising him. As the One Star wound up for a hugely telegraphed attack, Lewis slammed an open palm into his jaw, dazing him and knocking him into the air. Lewis jumped up after him and landed a downward punch right in the throat, sending the One Star crashing into the ground. The One Star lay on his belly, coughing and spluttering as Lewis pinned him to the ground with his foot, digging his heel between the One Star's shoulder blades.

"Do you give up?" Lewis asked.

The One Star struggled and tried to grab Lewis, but he was unable to reach.

"Do you?" Lewis asked again, digging his heel deeper.

The One Star shouted in pain and thumped his fist on the floor. "I give! I give! Uncle, uncle!"

Lewis lifted his foot from the back of the One Star before kicking him in the back of the head.

"Either you're really stupid or you think I am." Lewis snorted. "I doubt Satsuki would be too happy with you if you surrendered to a lowly Zero Star."

With that, Lewis returned to his seat and sighed.

"I really hope this won't come back to bite me." Lewis groaned. "If I can only just match up to a single one of Satsuki's Cannon Fodder, I don't think I'm going to make it to the end alive."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Inumuta sat with his laptop, going over the fight data from the One Star's confrontation with Lewis.

"So, is he any trouble?" Gamagori asked.

"From what I can see in this recording, I don't believe so. While it is true he won, it was only through attacking extremely vulnerable areas repeatedly." Inumuta said.

"Even so, he's good enough to take out a One Star by himself." Sanageyama said, feet planted on a table. "He could very well be a spy."

"Judging from how he fights it's obvious he hasn't been formally trained." Inumuta said, shifting his glasses.

"Do we have anything else on him?" Gamagori asked.

"I've searched every database I could get my hands on, and not once was his name in any single one of them." Inumuta reported. "No birth certificate, no citizenships, no identification of any kind. Sanageyama is right, he may very well be a spy with this kind of ambiguity."

Satsuki's eyes narrowed in thought. There was only one other person that Inumuta had zero information on, and she didn't like her one bit.

"What should we do, Lady Satsuki?" Gamagori asked.

Satsuki closed her eyes in thought before speaking. "That worthless One Star he defeated does not deserve his uniform. Give it to our new transfer student and monitor his activity."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

The next day, Lewis was walking towards his next class when he was stopped by a wall of One Stars.

"Ah hell. This is about yesterday isn't it?" Lewis asked, dropping his schoolbag and getting ready for a fight.

"As a matter of fact, it is." Said another voice as the One Stars parted, revealing Shiro Iori, the Sewing Club Captain. "Lady Satsuki has witnessed your combat skills against one of your peers and wishes to reward you."

Lewis raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes, quite graciously in fact." Shiro said, snapping his fingers as a One Star to his side presented Lewis with an unmarked white box. "You have been given a One Star Goku Uniform, and as such your standard of living has also increased. Wear it with pride."

And with that, the other students left, leaving Lewis standing there with the box. Looking inside, he saw that it was indeed a One Star Goku Uniform. Lewis looked up to where he thought Satsuki might be and narrowed his eyes.

"What's she up to?" he muttered before getting his mind on track. "Argh! I need to think about this later, right now I need to get to class!"

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Lewis was sitting in the giant empty courtyard, sadly without any lunch. However he had more than hunger on his mind as he looked at the box containing his new Goku Uniform. Getting bored with staring at a white box for seemingly forever, he looked up to see what the other students around were doing. Most were just talking in their own little groups, but there were a few One Stars who were stonily surveying the area like security cameras. However there was also an impossible to miss pair walking through the throng, a slightly irritated looking girl with black hair and a red highlight accompanied by a completely oblivious and bubbly girl with more unrestrained energy than a nuclear reactor in meltdown.

'No way, Ryuko and Mako in the flesh.' Lewis thought. 'Hang on, this is just about the part where-'

Suddenly, almost everyone in the courtyard formed a straight corridor, bowing as they did.

'Oh, this is just fantastic.' Lewis thought, taking cover behind a building. 'Good thing I stayed out of range. That boxing guy's attacks aren't anything to be sneezed at.'

From his hiding spot, Lewis could see Ryuko stand in Satsuki's way, getting totally decimated by that Boxing Club President and her quick flight from the area.

'Damn. That looked way more brutal in real life.' Lewis thought, shrinking away from the wall. "Good thing nobody saw me here. I don't need Gamagori breathing down my neck for not bowing to Satsuki like the rest of these guys."

However Lewis was being watched as he fled the scene, high above from behind a classroom window.

"Hmmm… I wonder what he's up to." The wheezy teacher muttered.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Lewis sat in his new condo in the One Star district, staring down his new Goku Uniform. He didn't like it. He didn't trust it. Satsuki wouldn't give him a Goku Uniform just like that.

"Maybe that One Star the other day was a test." Lewis thought to himself. "If so, then I guess I passed. But why test me? I wonder if she's onto me…"

Lewis contemplated for another while before sighing.

"I guess I'll just have to play along and wait for things to happen. The gears are already in motion, and I don't want to break them." Lewis said before looking at the clock on the wall and remembering something. "Oh crap, I almost forgot!"

Grabbing his Goku Uniform coat and quickly putting it on over his t-shirt, he ran for the door.

"I don't want to miss this next fight!" he grinned.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Inumuta was puzzled. From what the bugs and probes planted in Lewis' condo were telling him, Lewis knew exactly that a fight was going to happen even though he received no word on what that fool Takaharu was going to, that being luring Ryuko out for a rematch.

"How did he know this?" he thought aloud, going over some other data he'd uncovered.

Another thing that puzzled Inumuta was that Lewis' clothes that weren't his uniforms were completely devoid of Life Fibres. Not only that, but the brands they carried didn't match any companies currently on the market under the influence of REVOCS or any of its subsidiaries.

"How very strange." Inumuta said. "Just what are you, transfer student?"

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Lewis arrived at the boxing ring early. Takaharu had just taken out that boiler thing that he was going to use to deep-fry Mako for some inexplicable reason, and plenty of people in the crowd were waiting for something to happen. Lewis knew better than all of them and began to climb up into a nook in the stone gate to Honnouji Academy to get a better look.

"Man, wish I brought some binoculars." Lewis said to himself, peering into the distance. "Some popcorn wouldn't go amiss either."

Lewis waited for a while, watching the crowd pulse and wave. Sanageyama stood with the Boxing Club Captain in the centre of the ring and they talked. Lewis couldn't exactly hear what they were saying, but he definitely knew what they were talking about.

Sanageyama looked around, trying to see if that transfer student girl was around somewhere. However he did spot that other transfer student sitting in the entrance to Honnouji Academy, waiting expectantly.

'I wonder what he's up to.' Sanageyama thought, leaving the boxing ring.

Back up in his perch, Lewis saw the green haired swordsman leave the ring. As soon as he did, a mysterious cloaked figure leapt out from the crowd.

"And here we go." Lewis grinned, leaning forward as the fight begun.

As Ryuko started to kick some major ass, Lewis watched on in interest. Seeing how many people in the crowd were being flung away by wayward punches and attacks, Lewis let out a small chuckle.

"Boy am I glad I stayed up here." He said.

"Yeah, it is a good view from up here isn't it?" Sanageyama asked, standing next to Lewis.

Lewis flinched violently at the sudden appearance of one of the Elite Four. 'How the hell did he get up here?' Lewis thought. "Oh man, you scared me. Hold on, aren't you one of those Three Star students?"

"Yep." Sanageyama said, hands in his pockets. "So you'd better show some respect. Or else."

"Y-yes sir." Lewis said.

"Now, I want to ask you a few questions." Sanageyama said. "First off, what's your name?"

"Lewis." He said, watching the fight again.

"Huh. Guess you aren't from Japan then with a name like that huh?" Sanageyama said.

"No." Lewis nodded.

"Well, that's pretty interesting." Sanageyama murmured. "But I've got another question for you. What do you think of Lady Satsuki?"

'Uh oh. This isn't good.' Lewis thought. "Well… I don't really think I can form an opinion on her. I haven't really met her so I honestly couldn't tell you."

"Oh?" Sanageyama asked, eyebrow raised. "Surely you have something to say about her actions."

"Judging a person purely based on their actions is always a bad idea." Lewis said. "First impressions are always bullshit. Circumstances and context are everything."

'Where is this guy going with this? How much does he know?' Sanageyama thought. "So tell me what you think."

"Nobody starts a dictatorship just for the hell of it. Nobody builds an army just for kicks. She's got something big planned, and I want a front row seat to see what happens." Lewis grinned from behind his scarf. "I love watching grand plans like this in action. You never can tell what's going to happen next."

Sanageyama frowned before nodding. "You're kind of a weird kid, you know that?" he asked.

"Trust me, I'm not the only one." Lewis said as he turned around, but Sanageyama was already gone. "Damn it, that guy really is sneaky."

A huge cloud of steam erupted from the boxing ring as Ryuko fled from Honnouji Academy.

"Well, there she goes." Lewis said, watching Ryuko run through the gateway before feeling all energy drain from him. "Oh man, I am so dead. I basically just flat out told him I know Satsuki's up to something. Gamagoori's gonna come down on me like a ton of bricks."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Sanageyama swaggered into the Elite Four meeting room, cleaning out his ear as he went. The only person in the room however was Inumuta.

"Hey, got some info for you." Sanageyama said.

"I don't recall anyone giving you permission to talk to him." Inumuta said, glaring at the green haired swordsman.

"I don't recall anyone telling me I couldn't either." Sanageyama said, sitting down on a plush couch. "Anyway, I've got some information on the other transfer student that's arrived. He was awfully open with the information."

"So what did he tell you?" Inumuta asked.

"Well, he's not from Japan that's for sure. Said so himself. Second of all, he seems to know Lady Satsuki has a plan, but he didn't say what he thought it might be." Sanageyama said. "It's amazing how much information you can get by just asking."

"The other data I have gathered shows what you're saying might be true." Inumuta said, pressing a button on his laptop's keyboard.

"The gears are already in motion, and I don't want to break them." Lewis' recorded voice crackled over the speakers.

"Good thing this guy monologues." Sanageyama chuckled.

"I believe that he will either need to be dealt with or recruited. We should ask Lady Satsuki what we should do." Inumuta said.

The door opened, a bright light suddenly filling the room. "It is doubtful that he will survive for long. Send one of the Club Captains after him." She commanded. "If he is a spy then he will have been dealt with. If he was weak then it is no loss whatsoever."

"Yes Lady Satsuki." Bowed her two subordinates.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

The next day, Lewis found himself suspiciously alive. However he could feel eyes boring into the back of his head everywhere he went. In the giant courtyard to Honnouji Academy Lewis saw Mako being pelted to death by the Tennis Club.

"Poor Mako. Good thing she's got such a tough friend like Ryuko." He muttered as Ryuko leapt to Mako's defence. "I think I'll skip out on this one. This fight was kinda boring anyways."

As Lewis walked away from the battleground, he began to think about what events were coming up. First the No-Late Day, then the hilariously named Naturals Election, and finally the Grand Sports and Cultural Festival. He would need some kind of miracle to keep himself alive.

Something too fast for Lewis' eye to see splattered against the ground and Lewis sprinted for cover, which took the form of a giant chain. More shots burst against the chains, splattering a rainbow of paint over the chains.

"God damn it, what the hell?" Lewis shouted before another stream of paintballs was fired in his direction. Dodging out of the way, one of the paintballs splattered against his shoulder and burst, spreading yellow paint all over his One Star coat.

"Cover won't save you, fool! I am Two Star Kirito Toryo, President of the Paintball Club!" shouted a fairly cocky looking guy in light blue and white camouflage overalls with two black stars emblazoned on the front with a pair of goggles, a pair of plastic-armoured fingerless gloves on his hands which carried two paintball guns.

"Paintball huh?" Lewis growled, clutching at his shoulder. "I like paintball, but I think you're taking it a bit too far."

"No matter, I'm going to destroy you!" Kirito shouted before suddenly appearing in front of Lewis. "_Flanking Tactics_!"

Lewis' eyes widened and he leapt over the other side of the chain but saw that an identical copy of the Club President was waiting for him!

"A copy?!" Lewis gasped before receiving a salvo of paintballs to the chest, the sheer force sending him flying backwards into a wall.

The Paintball Club President let out a victorious laugh as he marched over to Lewis' body. "I knew you'd be no trouble! My Paintball-Spec Two Star Goku Uniform is leagues above your sorry excuse for a uniform!" he shouted.

Lewis coughed and a thin stream of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. "I'm not done yet you bastard!"

The Captain's boot came down heavy on Lewis' chest as the Club President stood above him with a paintball gun aimed for his face.

"How wrong you are." He smirked.

Lewis growled as his mind raced for a way out of this. 'Come on, think! Think! What the hell am I gonna do?!'

'Give me more…' growled a voice inside Lewis' head.

"Huh?" Lewis thought aloud. Looking down at his scarf, he saw two eyes eek their way open as the blood running from his mouth was absorbed into the scarf.

'I need more. More. More blood! I don't want to be dormant again!' the scarf bellowed, wrapping itself tightly around Lewis' wounds.

"What the hell?!" Lewis cried as the Paintball Club President leapt backwards as well.

"This is some trick of yours isn't it? Well it won't work on me!" he shouted, aiming both of his paintball guns for Lewis and unloading. Lewis' scarf whipped around, blocking all the paintballs as it drank greedily from Lewis' blood.

"What is this? What's going on?!" Lewis shouted through gritted teeth, feeling the scarf suck the blood from his veins.

A bloody red colour began to flow through the scarf, the eyes opening wider and wider as it got further. The ends of the scarf began to move of their own accord, fighting the Paintball Club President as Lewis kept struggling.

"Let me go damn it!" Lewis shouted, but he was feeling very weak. The scarf had taken a lot of his blood, but as the spread of red reached the end there was a great flashing of stars. When the light finally stopped, Lewis saw through his blurry vision that his scarf had turned a dark red colour with two burning yellow eyes at the front, the ends of it now much longer and waving, as if blown by some non-existent wind.

Lewis stared down at the eyes on his scarf and only one question came to mind. "What are you?"

'I am not entirely sure.' The voice said. 'However I do know that you have awakened me, and for that I am in your debt.'

"Debt huh?" Lewis thought aloud, seeing the ends of the scarf fluttering in the air. "I don't think so."

'What do you mean?' the scarf asked.

"I don't like people being in debt to me." Lewis said, looking at the Paintball Club Captain. "But we should talk more later. Right now we have to save ourselves."

The scarf was quiet for a while before it blinked approvingly. 'Very well. Let us finish this.'

The Paintball Club President looked scared before he shook his head and brandished his guns again. "Fine then, it's time I show you my real power! _Flanking Tactics Extreme_!" he shouted.

Clones of Kirito started appearing all around Lewis as they all readied their weapons and began firing. Lewis moved with incredible speed as he dodged around them before the ends of his scarf whipped outwards, smashing the clones in the face and sending them flying.

"What the?! Impossible!" Kirito shouted.

Lewis himself was quite surprised as well. "This is incredible! I never could move this fast before!" he thought aloud.

'Indeed. I am lending you my power in return for your blood.' The scarf explained.

"I know." Lewis said, smirking. "And I think I know what you are."

'Oh?' the scarf asked.

"You're a Kamui!" Lewis shouted before leaping off the ground, flying towards the real Paintball Club President.

Kirito shrieked as Lewis smashed a fist into his chest, knocking the wind out of him completely. As he went flying, Lewis' scarf whipped upwards and wrapped around his leg before bringing him down hard into the ground. Lewis cracked a smile as he started breathing heavily, clutching at his side.

"Damn. I feel like I'm about to keel over and die…" Lewis coughed.

'I can only imagine how your opponent feels.' The scarf chuckled. As the dust cloud cleared it showed Kirito laying on his back, unconscious. Lewis marched over and yanked the gloves off him before slipping them on, flexing his fingers.

"Yep, a perfect fit. I always wanted a pair of these." He chuckled before stumbling again, his vision fading in and out. "Ugh, what's happening now?"

'I have taken a lot of blood. Combine that with the fact that you don't seem to exercise much, and it makes sense that this would happen.' The scarf said in monotone. 'You must replenish your blood.'

Lewis groaned one last time as he staggered away from the unconscious body of the defeated Paintball Club President. He only made it a few steps before falling to the ground.

"D-damn it…" Lewis wheezed.


	2. Chapter 2

Lewis' eyes cracked open to see nothing but darkness. But as his vision eventually returned he saw that he seemed to be in a very dimly lit room.

"Whurt? Huh?" Lewis thought aloud, before noticing that his speech was muffled by something that tasted absolutely delicious. As Lewis began to regain cognition, he noticed that someone was stuffing deep fried food into his mouth!

"Good morning! You'd better eat up, or else you'll die of blood loss!" said the cheery voice of Mako Mankanshoku.

'Mako?' Lewis thought dimly. 'Wait a minute, Mako?!'

Lewis sat up suddenly, devouring the deep fried food as he did. "Yay! You're not dead from blood loss!" Mako cheered.

"What happened? Where am I?" Lewis asked.

"You're at my house!" Mako said, spreading her arms wide. "Ryuko and I took you here because we found you face down on the ground!"

"Uh… Thanks." Lewis said before noticing that most of his clothes were missing. "Where's my scarf? Where's my uniform?"

'I am over here.' The scarf said, draped over a coat hanger along with the One Star Uniform.

"Oh thank god." Lewis said aloud before delving into thought again. 'Okay, so I'm in Mako's house after that fight with the Tennis Club Captain and Ryuko's first battle with Satsuki. What the hell is going to happen next?'

'Lewis, are you alright?' the scarf asked.

"I'm just trying to think of something." Lewis said quietly before realising what he needed to remember. "Mako, what day is it today?"

Mako looked at Lewis blankly before her face turned into a mask of complete terror. "Oh no! I forgot to panic again! You'd better get up quickly! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Mako pulled the futon out from under Lewis, sending him crashing to the floor. Mako ran back out the door to presumably hurry up Ryuko as Lewis quickly pulled on his uniform as well. As Lewis made to grab his scarf, he saw the two glowing eyes stare at him.

'Who are you anyway?' the scarf asked.

Lewis stopped for a moment before relaxing slightly. "I suppose some introductions are in order. My name is Lewis. Do you have a name?"

'I do not think so. I was never given one by my creator.' He said. 'My creator always hid behind a thick sheet of glass when I was being woven together. After failing to awaken me, I was thrown away like some common rag.'

"Yeesh, that's a tough beginning. But don't worry, you're in good hands now." Lewis said. "So what are you? You're quite similar to a Kamui, although seeing as you're not a full outfit I'm not exactly sure."

'I do not know for what purpose I was created. My only memories are those from behind the glass and fluttering in the breeze.' The scarf sighed.

Another loud crashing was heard from a few rooms away and Lewis turned to the source of the noise.

'What is happening?' the scarf asked.

"Something that's probably going to kill me if I'm not careful." Lewis said as he wrapped the scarf around his neck. "But first things first, you need a name."

'A name?' he asked.

"I can't just call you 'it' or Scarf. It's just too impersonal." Lewis said. "Then again, I can't really think of a good name."

The scarf seemed to think for a while before speaking again. 'If you wish to give me a name, just call me Kamu.'

Lewis smiled and nodded. "Alright then."

Without so much as a warning, Mako and Ryuko burst into the room again and Mako grabbed a hold of Lewis and dragged him with her outside into the flowing sea of Zero Stars. The three of them sat atop Ryuko's guitar case, trying to stay above the sea of Zero Stars.

"Hey, you're that One Star that Mako took with us." Ryuko said, noticing Lewis. "You look really different from all the others."

"Yeah, I guess so." He nodded. "You're the other transfer student right? The one that fought Satsuki?"

"Yeah. What's it to you?" Ryuko asked stonily.

"Hey, hey, I don't mean anything by it." Lewis said defensively. "I'm smart enough to know that fighting you is a terrible idea."

Ryuko narrowed her eyes at Lewis and he felt a very big wave of anxiety come over him.

'I hope I don't get into a fight with her. Even though she's in her pyjamas I don't think I'd be able to win a fight with her. Especially since she's-'

Lewis' thoughts were interrupted by the wave of Zero Stars coming to a halt as the buildings in the slums parting to reveal a giant stage where Ira Gamagoori and several One Stars stood.

"Uh oh." Lewis said quietly.

As Gamagoori began to talk about what No Late Day was and chewing out Ryuko for her lack of a uniform, Lewis saw that Mako's sudden appearance beside Gamagoori as jarring as it was in the anime.

"I swear that girl is some kind of ninja." Lewis muttered.

Gamagoori seemed to notice Lewis' small comment after finishing talking to Mako and pointed at him accusingly. "You there! Why aren't you in the One Star District with the rest of the One Stars?!"

"Uh, I got attacked yesterday and knocked unconscious. Mako took me back to her house to get me back on my feet." Lewis said.

Gamagoori frowned so deeply that Lewis thought that Gamagoori was trying to burn a hole straight through him.

"Very well. However you shall participate in the No Late Day with the rest of these Zero Star Students! Now, let the No Late Day begin!" Gamagoori shouted.

As the sea of Zero Stars charges straight up the stairs to the school, Lewis felt himself get caught up in the wave alongside Ryuko and Mako.

"Come on, let's go!" Ryuko shouted as the stairs turned into a slide. Ryuko jammed her scissor blade into the steep metal ramp and Mako held on tight. Lewis was about to fall, but Kamu wrapped around Mako's leg, keeping Lewis from falling into the heap of Zero Stars at the bottom.

"Nice save Kamu." Lewis breathed.

"What the heck is this?" Ryuko said, looking down at Lewis.

"My scarf is alive!" Lewis said loudly. "He's saved me more than once."

Ryuko looked at the eyes the scarf had and narrowed her eyes. 'That looks a heck of a lot like-' she thought before Mako started slipping. "Hold on, let's keep going!"

As they eventually made it to the checkpoint, Kamu unwrapped himself from Mako's leg and Lewis stood up.

"Alright, I think it's time for us to part ways." Lewis said.

"Huh? Why? Shouldn't we stick together?" Ryuko asked.

"I thank you for taking care of me, but I really can't stick around. You guys aren't the only ones trying to get to school on time." Lewis shrugged.

Ryuko snorted and waved Lewis away. "Right. Well then, good luck to you." She said.

Lewis chuckled a little and nodded. "Thanks. I hope we meet again."

Lewis turned and started to run through the rest of the course as that Head of Trap Development made her move to join Ryuko and Mako. Lewis ran across the course, eventually coming to a giant loop-de-loop.

"Hey Kamu, is it possible we can go faster?" Lewis asked, looking at all the students falling off the giant obstacle.

'Theoretically. Why?' Kamu asked.

Lewis dropped into a sprinting position and got ready to run. "Because we've gotta go fast."

Lewis began sprinting towards the giant loop and Kamu realised what Lewis was trying to do. The ends of Kamu flew backwards and changed to shoulder mounted jet engines and activated, giving Lewis a huge blast of speed. Using the power Kamu gave him, Lewis was struggling to keep himself from falling over at the sheer speed he was going. At the end of the loop, Lewis skidded to a halt and looked back.

"Man, that was crazy. How fast were we going? I swear we went Super Sonic just then. Huh, I think Sonic X might be a good name for that ability." Lewis gasped. "I think I'm gonna need a moment though."

'You really do not exercise much do you?' Kamu asked.

Lewis' eyebrow twitched slightly in annoyance. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But that's not important right now. We've still got a lot of traps we need to get through."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Advancing up the course was much more difficult than Lewis initially thought it would be, but with Kamu's help he was able to swing across large gaps, fight through dangerous animals and avoid lethal obstacles.

"Hey Kamu, how are you able to manipulate yourself like that?" Lewis asked as Kamu launched Lewis over another long gap.

'It is a bond that I share with you since drinking your blood. I can tell what you want me to do, like it is an instinct I now have.' Kamu explained. 'Although it disheartens me to know that I am doing most of the work here.'

"Yeah, sorry about that. Tell you what I'll do. I'll actually start exercising if you keep being my friend." Lewis panted as he reached the top of another staircase.

'Friend?' Kamu asked.

"Yeah. What else would we be?" Lewis asked.

Kamu hummed in thought before speaking again. 'You make a fair point. Friend.' He said in agreement. 'Where are we now?'

"I think we're in the condo districts now." Lewis muttered. "We'd better keep going if we've only made it this far."

As Lewis kept running, an armoured school bus pulled up at a bus station.

"Hey you! Get on, or you'll get blown up in the minefields!" shouted a One Star from inside the bus.

Lewis was about to move towards the bus, but he remembered something. "No thanks! It's faster for me to run!"

The One Star looked mildly confused then terrified as Kamu lifted Lewis high above the ground as they swung off a streetlight.

'Why didn't you take the bus?' Kamu asked. 'It was an easy ride.'

Lewis stopped at the top of a building and turned around to wait. "Just watch."

As the two waited, they saw Ryuko empty the bus of One Stars with gratuitous amounts of violence before she and her companions entered.

'Oh, you knew it would be hijacked.' Kamu said. 'How, may I ask?'

"Call it a hunch and leave it at that." Lewis said. "Now let's go."

'You are a particularly mysterious person.' Kamu mused.

"Says the inexplicably talking scarf." snorted Lewis. "Now let's go. We don't wanna be late."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Armed with his knowledge of the course, Lewis and Kamu managed to make their way through the obstacle course with relative ease, even going past the fake school trap. By the time they reached the real Honnouji Academy, Lewis saw that a ton of Two Star students were walking in as well. Most of the One Stars hadn't even arrived yet and there was no way a Zero Star would have made it yet. A few of them eyed Lewis as he walked in with them, glancing around at all the powerful students who seemed to be ignoring him for the most part.

"Jeez, are all these guys Two Stars? Just how many clubs are in this academy?" Lewis muttered.

As Lewis continued onwards, he found that his classroom was entirely empty.

"Lewis?" asked the teacher as Lewis entered the room.

"Yeah, I'm here." Lewis said.

"Very good. Master Sanageyama will be glad to see you." The teacher said as he hurriedly left the room.

"Hang on, what?" Lewis asked as the teacher slammed the door behind him. Looking back around the classroom, Lewis saw that one of the Elite Four had decided to pay him another visit.

"So, you survived No Late Day. I have to say you exceeded my expectations." Sanageyama smirked, feet resting on top of the desk he sat at. "You even defeated the president of the Paintball Club. Not bad for a One Star rookie, although I think that mysterious scarf of yours has given you a big hand."

Lewis immediately felt tense and Kamu noticed. 'Is this man dangerous?' he asked.

"Yeah. And more importantly, he wants something from me." Lewis murmured.

Sanageyama stood up and smirked. "What I want from you is to test your abilities. Lady Satsuki has given me permission to fight you, and I intend to use it. So come on, attack me. Let's see what you've really got."

Lewis started thinking of a way to get out of this situation, but nothing really came to mind. If he ran Sanageyama would probably chase him down and force him to fight. If he did fight Sanageyama and won then he would disrupt the timeline. If he lost he would be beaten to a pulp!

"Come on, attack me already!" Sanageyama shouted, drawing his bamboo sword. "'Cause if you don't, then I will."

'Damn it, I can't think of a way out of this!' Lewis thought desperately.

Sanageyama spat and leapt forward, knocking desks out of the way as he flew. "Fine then, I'll just go first! _Men_!"

Lewis jumped backwards, the ends of Kamu raised to protect his head. The bamboo sword struck the fabric and Lewis retaliated with a punch to Sanageyama's chest, but the swordsman dodged out of the way!

"Nice try, but these eyes of mine can see everything you're about to do. Even the tiniest muscle movement betrays you." Sanageyama grinned as he went for another attack. "_Dou_!"

Lewis leapt out of the way of the other swing, only just clearing the end of the sword as their fight entered the corridor. Sanageyama shifted his grip as he thrust the sword at Lewis' wrist.

"_Kote_!" he shouted as the sword found its mark, the pain shooting up Lewis' nerves as he leapt backwards again.

As Sanageyama drew his sword back, Kamu wrapped around the bamboo blade and wrenched it out of Sanageyama's grip. Lewis caught the sword as it came down and held it defensively in front of him.

"Looks like you're at the disadvantage now. A swordsman isn't nearly as powerful without his weapon." Lewis growled.

Sanageyama smirked and crossed his arms. "Confident aren't ya? Well go on then, just try to hit me with my sword."

Lewis leapt backwards again as Kamu latched on to either ends of the corridor. When Lewis hit the ground he jumped forward again with Kamu slinging him forward at blinding speed, sword ready to thrust. In one swift movement Sanageyama leaned out of the path of the strike, gripped the handle of the sword and slammed his fist into Lewis' side, wrenching the sword from Lewis' hands and sending him crashing into the wall at a frankly unreasonable speed, throwing up a cloud of dust.

"What was that you said just before? Nowhere near as powerful?" Sanageyama asked, twirling the sword around in his hand. "That's disappointing. I was hoping for a challenge."

Two red streaks burst from the cloud of dust aimed for Sanageyama, who deflected them both with his sword. The ends of Kamu were drawn back into the dust cloud as it cleared, revealing Lewis still standing with a trail of blood going down the side of his face.

"I'm not down for the count yet." Lewis panted. "You'll have to do much better than that if you want to take me out."

Sanageyama smirked again and readied his sword. "Alright then, just remember that you brought this on yourself!"

Sanageyama disappeared and Lewis instinctively whipped around, Kamu ready to receive the blow from Sanageyama's bamboo sword. However his attack was much more powerful than Lewis estimated and he was launched off his feet and out of a window!

"Oh shit!" Lewis cried as he fell, falling towards the building. "Get ready Kamu, we're about to do something hella dangerous!"

'Got it.' Kamu agreed.

"_Sonic X_!" Lewis shouted as Kamu transformed.

Lewis began to run down the side of the building, the speed forcing tears from his eyes. Just as they were about to hit the ground, Lewis leapt directly off the side of the academy building and flying horizontally just a metre off the ground before he crashed into the dust, tumbling as he did. Lewis coughed and wheezed as he got up, brushing the dirt off himself.

"I can't believe we actually survived that." He panted. Looking up, he saw that Sanageyama was walking calmly towards him, but he stopped a fair distance away.

"Huh, so you can transform your scarf." He observed. "Well guess what? You're not the only one who can do that."

'Oh SHIT.' Lewis thought as Sanageyama's Goku Uniform began to transform. "Kamu, this is really bad! We need to get the hell out of here!"

As Lewis turned to look for an escape route, he saw that the entrance to Honnouji Academy was blocked off by a horde of One Star students! Looking back to Sanageyama, he saw that he'd finished his transformation sequence.

"It's time to end this." Sanageyama said, a bamboo sword on the ends of each of his massive fingertips.

"We're in a lot of trouble! _Sonic X_!" Lewis cringed as Sanageyama charged closer. Lewis and Kamu flung themselves out of the way, but Sanageyama caught them in a storm of sword hits.

"_Shinsoku: Senbonzuki_!" he shouted as Lewis tried to block at least some of the lightning fast sword strikes, but to no avail.

The assault of strikes launched Lewis backwards across the massive courtyard and into a wall. Lewis felt all strength leave him as he fell with a crash to the ground, barely able to lift himself up. Lewis coughed as Kamu attempted to help him up, but Sanageyama smacked his bamboo sword into Lewis' back, keeping him down.

"I didn't think you'd be this easy to defeat. It's really pitiful." Sanageyama said. "You don't deserve to wear one of Lady Satsuki's uniforms."

Lewis lay silent as Sanageyama lifted his sword away and removed Lewis' Goku Uniform, leaving him in only his underwear and Kamu around his neck.

"Be grateful this is the only punishment you're suffering." He snorted as he turned and marched away, the rest of the One Stars following him.

Lewis coughed as he looked up, his vision barely able to make out anything.

"What the hell… did he mean by that?" Lewis wheezed before falling unconscious.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Lewis awoke to find himself once again, not dead. It was a strangely reoccurring theme that he was glad to see happening, but all the same was confused as to why it was happening. Trying to sit up, he felt twangs of pain as the many bruises he sustained all started flaring up.

"Ugh… My everything hurts…" Lewis groaned as he inspected the room he was in. It looked much like the Mankanshoku household, but Lewis could tell that it wasn't. For one thing, he couldn't actually hear any of the noise that the rest of the family made. "Kamu, are you here?"

'I am fine.' Kamu said, laying across from Lewis' futon on the floor. 'Could you please put me on? This floor is filthy.'

"Right." Lewis nodded, wrapping Kamu around his neck. "Man, Sanageyama really did a number on us eh?"

'Indeed.' Kamu agreed.

"Did you see who brought us here?" Lewis asked, looking around for anything.

'I am afraid not.' Kamu replied.

"Really? Damn, that's another mystery to add to the pile. Alright, what day is today?" Lewis muttered to himself, trying to remember details about the timeline. "Oh right, today that guy Tsumugu is supposed to show up."

'Tsumugu?' asked Kamu.

"He's a pretty powerful guy. Hates Life Fibers. That's enough reason for us to avoid him." Lewis said. "If we steer clear of Ryuko, then we probably won't run into him."

'You still have not told me how you came to know all this.' Kamu said.

"And you haven't told me how a scarf I've had for years suddenly turned into a living being." Lewis retaliated.

'You are avoiding the question. You know what I am. Let's start with that first.' Kamu said.

Lewis sighed and lay down in his futon again. "You are a Kamui, a garment made entirely of Life Fibers, an alien parasitic organism. Most Kamuis I've observed have the ability to transform into a more powerful form, however I don't think that you have that ability."

'How so?' Kamu asked.

"For one, the other Kamuis I've seen are all complete outfits. You're different, and I think I know why. When the other Kamuis transform they all make it so they cover as little of the person's skin as possible to avoid the wearer becoming overcome with the power and going berserk. However since you only cover my neck area, which basically ensures that won't happen even though I get less of your power." Lewis explained. "And while you can't exactly transform like other Kamuis, you have other transformations that enhance certain abilities, like _Sonic X._"

'I see.' Kamu said before delving into thought.

Lewis got up again and began searching for his uniform. "Anyway I guess we should get to school. I'm not entirely sure that they'll be too happy if I skip out on a day."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

After finding a Zero Star uniform in his cupboard, Lewis arrived back at Honnouji Academy for another day of living under the heel of Satsuki Kiriuin. Lewis frowned at the giant spire as he entered the gateway to the academy.

'I can tell you dislike her immensely, so why are you not fighting back?' Kamu asked.

"There's no point to fighting Satsuki." Lewis snorted as he entered the academy building. "Even if I were able to somehow topple her regime, I'd only be shooting myself in the foot."

'What makes you say that?' Kamu asked again.

"Context." Lewis said simply. "Give it a few weeks and my position on Satsuki's little dictatorship will become perfectly understandable."

Kamu snorted with discontent. 'Your cryptic answers do not fill me with confidence. Or answer my questions.'

"I'm just trying to avoid getting everyone in the universe to start attacking me. Or the universe from just imploding altogether." Lewis shrugged as he entered his classroom.

'And that only raises further questions.' Kamu said, rolling his eyes.

As Lewis sat down, he heard many students muttering to themselves about him. Mostly to do with absolutely getting decimated by Sanageyama, one of the members of the Elite Four, and yet he was still alive and sitting there with only bruises to show for it.

As the class continued, Lewis could hear several loud explosions throughout the school.

"Yep, that'll be Tsumugu." Lewis muttered before a thought occurred to him. "Wait, I was out cold for an entire day? Jeez, no wonder I'm so hungry."

Without warrant or warning, Mako appeared directly next to Lewis' desk and dumped onto it a box full of croquettes. "Here you go! You can't go hungry on an empty stomach, that's bad for you." She said cheerfully.

A little stunned by the sudden appearance and charity, Lewis turned to Mako. "Uh, that was a little redundant but true all the same. Thanks Mako."

"Don't worry about it!" she smiled before instantly falling asleep at her desk.

Lewis stared at her in a weirded-out stupor. 'Jeez, is her on-off switch broken?'

The teacher glanced back at Mako and immediately made a sour face. Tossing a bucket and mop directly at the absurdly ditzy girl, the teacher pointed to the door.

"Mako Mankanshoku, as punishment for sleeping in class for the fifteenth time this lesson you are to clean the toilets immediately! Now get to it!" he shouted.

Mako shrieked in terror and raced out the door, mop and bucket trailing behind her. Lewis watched her go in a mild daze.

'What an odd girl.' Kamu observed.

"And the award for Most Obvious Understatement of the Year goes to…" Lewis chuckled.

'Oh you knew what I meant.' Kamu huffed.

Once again, there was a lot of sounds of destruction and violence going on. But after a certain period, Mako returned to the classroom dragging an unconscious One Star student behind her and the broken-off brush head of the broom in her other hand.

"Teacher, where are the spare cleaning supplies kept?" she asked innocently.

Lewis blinked for a moment in confusion, wondering what the hell Mako just did to that student.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

The next day, Lewis felt an odd sense of excitement. After all, tomorrow was the day that he'd finally see Sanageyama get his comeuppance.

'You seem awfully cheerful.' Kamu noticed.

Lewis nodded as he walked through the Zero Star slums. "Yep. Another fight's going to happen tomorrow, and it's going to be a good one."

'You certainly have a knack for knowing when fights are about to start don't you?' Kamu asked.

"Believe me, the quicker I can identify if a fight is going to happen, the faster I can get out of the way. Or at least to an area where I can get a good view." Lewis smirked.

Catching the tram up to the Academy, Lewis saw that he had actually sat quite close to Mako.

"Hey, it's you again!" she said excitedly, jumping into the seat next to Lewis. "So how are you?"

"I definitely feel a lot better since yesterday." Lewis said. "Those croquettes you gave me were delicious."

"No problem!" she said chirpily.

Lewis frowned a little when he noticed something missing. "Hey Mako, where's your friend? Ryuko was it?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! She didn't come home yesterday!" Mako gasped. "I don't know where she is! AHHHHH-"

"Well I'm sure you'll see her at school today!" Lewis shouted, covering his ears to block out Mako's screaming.

"Oh, okay!" Mako smiled.

'I wonder if this girl has any problems with mood swings?' Kamu asked.

"I think she's just enthusiastic." Lewis said under his breath.

"So where are all your friends?" Mako asked.

Lewis sighed a little and tugged at Kamu. "Right now I'm wearing my only one. His name is Kamu."

"Eh? Oh, so you talk to your clothes too, just like Ryuko." Mako said understandingly.

'This Ryuko girl, she has a Kamui?' Kamu asked.

"She does?" Lewis asked in a surprised tone.

"Yep! She calls him Senketsu." Mako explained. "He's her only uniform and one of her best friends. And Ryuko is my best friend. Hey, if you don't have any friends do you want to be our friend?"

This thought struck Lewis harder than any of Sanageyama's attacks from a few days prior. If he became Mako's friend then he might accidentally mess something up in the timeline! If he did there was a chance that he could cause the Life Fibers to win, and cause the destruction of the entire planet!

"I appreciate your offer Mako, but I think I'll have to decline." Lewis said.

"Huh? Why?" Mako asked.

"Well, it's a little bit difficult to explain that." Lewis said, scratching the back of his head.

'If it is only a little bit difficult then you should have no trouble explaining. I too am wondering why you are declining her offer.' Kamu said suspiciously.

"Well… Okay, this sounds really selfish and horrible but… you guys tend to get into a lot of danger and I really don't want to get hurt." Lewis said. "Besides, I think I'd only get in the way."

A spotlight snapped on and a brief chorus of 'hallelujah' was heard as Mako stood in front of Lewis, arms crossed above her head. "If we get into trouble then Ryuko can protect us! She always protected me, even when I didn't even have to ask her! You really should be our friend. I know how sad it is being alone all the time, but friendship is the happiness of the infinite soul, and nobody should ever be without that kind of happiness!"

Lewis blinked in confusion again after just witnessing a Mako Moment first hand. 'I think I'm going to need a minute to process what I just saw and heard.'

Mako looked intensely at Lewis, her face both adorable and fiercely determined. Lewis couldn't find the will to deny her anymore.

"Alright, I'll hang out with you guys." Lewis smiled.

"Yayness!" Mako cheered as she started chattering incessantly, the tram rising up to Honnouji Academy.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

When they reached the Academy, Mako had made it a point to bring Lewis to her and Ryuko's usual hangout.

"Hiya Ryuko!" Mako waved as they approached.

"Hey Mako." Ryuko waved before noticing Lewis. "Hey, isn't that the One Star guy from the No Late Day?" Ryuko asked.

"Yeah, nice to see you again." Lewis nodded.

Ryuko frowned as she put a hand to her chin. "Where'd your Goku Uniform go?" she asked.

Lewis cringed as he looked away. "I got demoted. Sanageyama beat the living tar outta me and Kamu."

"Kamu?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, my scarf." Lewis said, tugging at the centre as one of the ends waved at Ryuko.

"Oh yeah, that thing." Ryuko said. "Is it a Kamui?"

"I guess so. It's a little different from yours, I will say." Lewis shrugged.

"How'd you know Senketsu was a Kamui?" Ryuko asked defensively.

"It helps when you and Satsuki keep shouting that word every time you're fighting." Lewis shrugged.

Ryuko looked a little stupefied before shaking her head and getting back on topic. "Where'd you get it?" Ryuko asked, studying Kamu closely.

"Kamu was a gift from my mother, though I didn't know that it was a Kamui at the time. Or what one was. In fact for a long time I just thought he was a normal scarf. He wasn't even red." Lewis explained.

"Huh. Weird." Ryuko said.

"Yeah and speaking of, I think your uniform is looking at me funny." Lewis said, shrinking away from Senketsu's eye.

"You're one to talk." Ryuko retorted as she sat down again and Mako and Lewis joined her. "So what was your name anyway?"

"Oh man, I forgot to tell you guys my name." Lewis said. "My name is Lewis. It's good to finally meet someone who doesn't want to beat my ass into the ground."


	3. Chapter 3

As the day passed, Lewis hung out more with Mako and Ryuko. He found them really good company, and regretted not trying to befriend them sooner. Sure there was a risk that he could destroy the entire planet and doom the entirety of humanity to a terrible fate, but Mako's general cheerfulness more than made up for that risk.

"So Lewis, how exactly did your fight with Sanageyama go?" Ryuko asked.

"Why are you asking me that?" Lewis cringed.

"Well you're still alive, so you must've done something right." Ryuko shrugged.

"Yeah. It went pretty much exactly how I thought it'd go. Sanageyama challenged me and I managed to evade most of his attacks at first, but eventually he threw me out of a window and pummelled me into a wall before demoting me and taking my Goku Uniform." Lewis grumbled. "And this is why I don't get into fights. Bad things always happen to me."

"Really? You don't fight much?" Ryuko asked.

"Basically my extent of fighting in schools is punching a guy in the face once. This was when I was like, eleven years old." Lewis shrugged. "So yeah, not exactly the toughest kid on the block."

"Jeez, how did you even survive Junior High School?" Ryuko asked.

"Simple. We don't have those in Australia." Lewis said.

"That's where you come from?" Mako asked.

"Yep, halfway across the world." Lewis said. "You go straight from Primary School to High School, with no cushy gaps in-between."

"Junior High? Cushy? Psh, you clearly haven't seen the crap they pull here." Ryuko said. "You've had your life pretty easy up until this point haven't you?"

"I guess so." Lewis shrugged.

"So why'd you come here?" Ryuko asked.

'Ah, this is why I didn't want to befriend these guys. Difficult questions like this.' Lewis cursed internally as he thought up a convincing lie. "Okay, but this is a bit of a long story. One day I came home to find that Mum and Dad weren't there yet. They worked at a clothing factory on late night shifts, so that was normal. What wasn't normal is the fact that they never came home. Three days later I found a letter saying that I'd been accepted into an academy I didn't know I'd been enrolled in. Seeing no other alternative I came here to find some answers about what the hell is going on. Trouble is I've come up empty handed, and now I'm trapped here."

"And what about Kamu?" Ryuko asked.

"He was originally a scarf that my mother gave me one day. Said it would keep me warm and bring me luck. After I fought the Paintball Club President it absorbed some of my blood and almost sucked me dry in an attempt to keep himself from going dormant again. I don't think he's taken any since then." Lewis said.

'No, I haven't. Is that also normal for Kamuis?' Kamu asked.

"No, I don't think it is." Lewis mumbled inaudibly.

"I guess there's a lot of stuff you don't have the answers to huh?" Ryuko asked. "Like just what Senketsu is in the first place."

Lewis shrugged sadly. "I wish I could help you, really."

"Nah, it's fine." Ryuko said. "I can just beat that info outta Satsuki when I get the chance."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Inumuta stared at the data he was collecting, scratching his head at the interesting new data he received from both Sanageyama's fight with him, the information the various bugs in Lewis' house had recorded and the video cameras he'd had installed in Honnouji Academy's grounds.

"So he's befriended the other transfer student despite doing everything in his power to avoid them thus far. Curious." Inumuta mumbled. "And what's more, he knows about the existence of Kamuis and Life Fibres and believes his scarf to be a Kamui and a gift from his mother? If he knows this, then why isn't he telling Ryuko? I wonder if Lady Satsuki will want to know about this."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

As the day drew to a close, Ryuko, Mako and Lewis began to walk out of the Academy.

"Well it's been great to hang out with you guys, but I've gotta go." Lewis said.

"You sure? Why don't you come meet the rest of my family?" Mako asked.

Lewis shook his head and started walking. "I really don't think there's any more room in your house. It's probably for the best anyways. See you guys tomorrow!"

As Mako and Ryuko watched him go, Ryuko narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Just what the heck is with that guy?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Mako asked.

"I don't know. There's just something off about him y'know?" Ryuko said.

'He did seem to act like he was hiding something.' Senketsu said. 'Especially in regards to his knowledge of just what a Kamui is.'

Ryuko nodded in agreement. "Something's definitely up with that guy, but I don't really care as long as he doesn't get between me and Satsuki."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

As the fight between Sanageyama and Ryko began, Lewis made his way quickly to the gymnasium.

"Man, do I wanna see this!" Lewis grinned as he entered to see both Ryuko and Sanageyama already transformed. But the crowd was nigh impenetrable! "Kamu, let's do a bit of wall climbing."

'Got it.' Kamu agreed as Lewis ran for a nearby wall. The ends of Kamu dug into the wall, keeping Lewis suspended in the air so he could watch the fight from above, arms folded.

"Perfect! You never fail me Kamu." Lewis laughed, watching the fight below him. Looking across the gymnasium, he also saw that he had unknowingly situated himself directly opposite to the Elite Four's viewing area. "Uh oh."

The other members of the Elite Four stared at Lewis for a while before talking amongst themselves again, watching the fight go on.

"I guess they don't care that much. Guess that's good." Lewis shrugged.

"Whoa! It's a really great view from up here!" Mako said, looking down at the fight.

"Mako?! How the hell did you get up here?" Lewis twitched in surprise.

"Yay! Go Ryuko!" Mako cheered, seemingly ignoring Lewis completely.

Lewis sighed and smiled. "Oh well, this is pretty much expected of her."

As the fight below progressed, Lewis saw afterimages of both Ryuko and Sanageyama fill the arena.

"Jeez, I can't believe how fast these guys are. I doubt I could keep up with them even with your Sonic X." Lewis muttered.

'Maybe if you actually trained you'd be able to become a better fighter.' Kamu advised.

"Yeah, I get your point." Lewis said as he watched the fight go one. Eventually, Ryuko delivered her coup-de-grace to Sanageyama, his uniform tearing into a thousand tatters. "And there's the end of it!"

"Wow." Mako observed. "He's got a really small-"

"I don't think we need to know that Mako." Lewis interrupted.

Coming down from the wall, Mako ran over to Ryuko to congratulate her. Lewis however stayed behind, but not before noticing that Ryuko's homeroom teacher was watching from the shadows. Kamu glanced at him as well and narrowed his eyes.

'You know him?' Kamu asked.

"A little, but I think he's only here to watch the fight between Ryuko and Sanageyama." Lewis shrugged as Gamagori started chewing out Sanageyama. "I've gotta say, I bet Sanageyama's feeling way worse than I did right now. Feeling awful enough to do something drastic…"

The next day, Lewis stayed home instead of going to watch Ryuko's next fight with Sanageyama. There was nobody around that one to begin with, so he really didn't need to go watch. Not to mention it was a particularly brutal curb-stomp battle.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

A few days later and Lewis was back at Honnouji Academy, ready to start the day. Although when lunchtime rolled around, he noticed that the giant courtyard was strangely empty, save for Ryuko and Mako sitting at a desk with a large sign planted next to them.

"Hey, Lewis! Over here!" Mako waved, drawing Lewis closer to them.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Lewis asked, reading the sign. "Fight Club? Wait, are you guys trying to make a student club?"

"Yep." Ryuko grinned. "You want in?"

Lewis was about to respond when he was knocked out of the way by a suddenly appearing Gamagori. "What are you playing at, Matoi?" he thundered.

"You've got eyes don't you?" Ryuko asked smugly. "I'm starting a Fight Club."

"Quit trying to screw with us." Gamagori spat.

"You're the ones that are screwing with me!" Ryuko countered.

Lewis groaned as he got to his feet, dusting himself off.

"You're a part of this foolishness too, Lewis?" Gamagori asked, looming over him.

"I uh…" Lewis trailed off, shrinking away from Gamagori.

"Since you're forcing students to start stupid clubs to go after me, I'm gonna do the same." Ryuko interrupted. "Say hello to Fight Club President Ryuko Matoi! I've already got two other members, Mako Mankanshoku and Lewis."

Gamagori turned away from Lewis and snorted. "Do you seriously think a club like that will be approved?"

As if on cue, an almost blinding light shone down from the top of Honnouji Academy, a sure sign that Satsuki was watching.

"I'll approve this Fight Club!" She announced from the top of the academy.

Lewis raised his hand, shielding his eyes from the light. "What, just like that?"

"I don't recall needing a reason from you." Satsuki frowned, looking down at Lewis. "Are you trying to integrate into my system, Matoi?"

"Moron! I'll bring your precious system down around your ears!" Ryuko yelled back.

"How amusing." Satsuki smirked. "Try not to let it get the better of you."

"Just you watch…" Ryuko growled.

"Very well, let us begin the paperwork!" Gamagori announced, One Star lackeys appearing around them.

"Switch gears real fast don'tcha?" Ryuko asked in mild surprise.

"Lady Satsuki has spoken. I must abide by her decision." Gamagori stated.

As Gamagori began listing off the responsibilities of the club president, Ryuko watched the stack of paperwork get higher and higher.

"Uh, my friend here, Mako Mankanshoku, says she'll b club president." Ryuko said quickly.

Needless to say, Mako's initial reaction was pure fear.

"Very well, it matters not to me." Gamagori said stonily. "The paperwork must be filled in by the end of today. Dismissed!"

As Gamagori and the other One Stars left, Lewis saw that Ryuko was looking confident while Mako was cowering at the sight of all that paperwork.

"So Lewis, how do you feel about being a part of the Fight Club?" Ryuko asked.

Lewis pondered for a second about his options before shrugging. "I dunno. I don't really want to get into any more fights. I think I'll pass on being a member."

"Well too bad, I've already listed you as a member." Ryuko said with an air of finality.

"Eh?!" Lewis gawked. "Why'd you go and do that?!"

"Because you said you were powerful enough to defeat a club president, didn't you? Having you on our side will improve the standing of the Fight Club." Ryuko said.

"Yeah, but that was with a Goku Uniform! I don't think I've mastered using Kamu's abilities yet anyway, so I don't know if I'll be strong enough to take on any other club presidents." Lewis said.

"Then you can train on all the One Stars we're gonna fight in the Clubs." Ryuko said. "Not only that, but your living standards would improve."

"Well, it would be nice to have a condo again." Lewis thought aloud. "Well I guess I'm already signed up for it aren't I?"

Ryuko grinned. "Damn right you are."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Later that day, the Fight Club made its first challenge. They were fighting the Folk Dancing Club, whose existence baffled Lewis to no end.

"Okay, so a Fight Club is considered ridiculous, so why the hell does this exist?" Lewis shouted, deflecting a kick with the armoured back of his hand.

"Beats me." Ryuko said, already having finished off the Club President. "I'll leave all the rest to you."

"Gee, thanks." Lewis muttered, Kamu launching him away from another kick.

'Lewis, you know how you said that the less area I covered, the less power you would receive?' Kamu asked.

"Huh? Yeah, why?" Lewis asked.

'Roll up your sleeve.' Kamu said.

"Oh, I think I get you." Lewis grinned, rolling up his right arm's sleeve. Kamu unwrapped himself from Lewis' neck and wound himself around his entire arm, transforming into a solid shoulder length glove with two large protruding studs on the knuckles, Kamu's eyes shifting to become situated on Lewis' shoulder. "_Breaker K_!"

Blocking another kick from a One Star with the new glove, Lewis retaliated with a fierce punch that sent the One Star and several of the One Stars behind her flying into the distance. Lewis looked at the damage he'd caused with surprise and a small sense of achievement.

"Well, I didn't think it'd be that powerful." Lewis said as he grabbed the foot of another Folk Dancer and threw her into a crowd of her comrades, knocking them all to the ground.

'Neither did I.' Kamu said. 'Just goes to show how useful experimentation is, correct?'

Lewis launched the final One Star folk dancer into the sky with a fierce uppercut before Kamu unwrapped from Lewis' arm before flying upwards and gripping her ankle before Lewis pulled down hard, slamming the unlucky One Star into the unforgiving ground.

"There, I think we're done here." Lewis said, dusting his hands off as Kamu wrapped around his neck again.

"Y'know, for someone who says he doesn't get into fights that often you can sure handle your own against these One Stars." Ryuko observed.

"Says the person who can blow away hordes of them with a single swing of that Scissor Blade of yours." Lewis said.

Ryuko shrugged and smiled. "You've got me there."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

As the fights progressed, the standing of the Fight Club grew until eventually Lewis as well as Mako and her family received both a new One Star uniform and a new condo. Lewis was relaxing on the couch, feeling a lot of the stress of the day start to fade.

"It's good to have some simple luxuries again, eh Kamu?" Lewis asked.

'I do not approve of the washing machine, nor the dryer. However this iron is fantastic.' Kamu said, laying flat on the ironing board and ironing himself. 'It feels like every wrinkle is melting away…'

Lewis relaxed some more, but the twinges of overexertion began to set in. There was also a knock at the door and Lewis groaned as he moved to open it.

"Hello?" He asked as he opened the door.

"Hiya Lewis!" Mako waved with Ryuko in tow. "Isn't this place amazing?"

"Yeah, it's pretty great." Lewis said. "You guys settling in okay?"

"Everyone's been really happy since the move, like there's a twinkle in everyone's eye!" Mako said gleefully, pretty much bouncing off the walls before coming to a halt in the middle of the condo. "Are you and Kamu all alone here?"

"Pretty much." Lewis shrugged.

"You should come have dinner with us then! Mom's just made a ton of croquettes with real meat!" Mako said, grabbing Lewis by the hands. "Come on, let's go!"

"Hang on, I don't wanna leave Kamu behind!" Lewis said.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

At the Mankanshoku household, Lewis was welcomed with open arms. It was startling how friendly and hospitable they were. Not to mention the croquettes that Mako's mother made were one of the best things that Lewis had ever tasted.

"These are delicious Miss Sukuyo." Lewis said, clearly enjoying the croquettes.

"Thank you!" she smiled as the rest of the family praised her cooking as well. "Are you all alone like Ryuko too Lewis?"

"Yeah, it gets a little lonely sometimes being just me and Kamu." Lewis said. "Although I do get to hang out with Mako and Ryuko at school, so it's fine."

"Well if you ever do get lonely, you can visit us at any time." She smiled, putting another helping of croquettes onto Lewis' plate.

After dinner Lewis went back to his condo to relax. But then he thought he heard something from outside his window. Opening it up and looking up, he saw Mataro, Barazo and even Guts rappelling outside the bathroom window.

"Hey, what are you guys doing up there?" Lewis called to them, causing them to jump in surprise before signalling Lewis to shush. Then the bathroom window opened.

"You guys are still pulling that Peeping Tom crap here?!"Ryuko roared as she batted them away from the windows.

"This is completely unrelated!" Mataro cried as he slammed against the outside wall.

"What he said!" his father shouted as he did the same.

Lewis chuckled at the scene before looking up and, unfortunately, Ryuko noticed him. Lewis was unable to avoid the flying bar of soap that Ryuko tossed into his face at Mach Speed.

"I didn't mean it!" Lewis cried as he fell out of his condo window.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

As days passed, Lewis felt that the challenges he faced got more and more daunting every next club they faced. However with the help of Kamu he was able to defeat many of the One Stars that they faced, although he was certainly feeling the effects of it. Muscle strain, fatigue and countless bruises riddled Lewis' body, and the fights were only getting tougher.

"You okay Lewis?" Ryuko asked as Lewis was sitting on a bench flopped over the backrest, breathing heavily.

"I have… Never been… So tired… And so sore… in my entire life…" Lewis panted, trying to catch his breath. "How 'bout you?"

"Yeah, these fights are actually getting pretty difficult now. Mako says we're going to be fighting a couple more clubs tomorrow as well." Ryuko panted.

"Yes, the Dynamite Fishing Club, the Arctic Watersports Club and the Steel Smithing Club." Mako said, clipboard at the ready. "If you are not feeling up to it, you may take one of your scheduled recuperation days, however I expect you to be back at one hundred percent by the day after."

"Thanks Mako, I owe you one." Lewis said.

"You most certainly do." Mako said, taking her leave. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have several forms to fill out back at the clubroom."

Lewis watched the normally bubbly and excitable girl go and turned to Ryuko. "Just what the heck happened to her?"

Ryuko sighed and shook her head sadly. "I don't know."

Lewis shook his head and got to his feet. "Well, I'm going home. Good luck with the Dynamite Fishing Club, I hear they'll go out with a bang."

Ryuko scowled at Lewis and shook her head. "You're an awful person."

'She is right.' Kamu said. 'Even though I don't have ears I wish I couldn't have heard that.'

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Lewis was incredibly happy that he got to spend an entire day in bed, not having to move, or wash, or dress.

'You know you really should look after yourself. If you don't, who will?' Kamu asked.

"You make a fair point, and I would most certainly take a shower if it didn't hurt to breathe right now." Lewis said. A chirpy ringtone sounded and Lewis picked up his mobile and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"It's Mako. I've got big news for you Lewis, you and Ryuko are going to fight the Elite Four!" she proclaimed. "The day has finally arrived for the Mankanshoku family to ascend to the highest glory there can be!"

"What?!" Lewis gasped, quickly sitting up and immediately wishing he hadn't. "What do you mean us both fighting the Elite Four?"

"The Fight Club has challenged Lady Satsuki's Elite Four and they have accepted the challenge!" Mako announced. "If I don't see you there tomorrow you'll be out of the club for good, and that means no more condo! So hurry up and recover."

Mako hung up without so much as a goodbye and Lewis dropped the mobile on his bedside table and groaned. "Mako's just challenged the Elite Four, probably without asking Ryuko first. She also wants us to help fight them."

'You do not feel ready?' Kamu asked.

"I don't feel like I'll be in any condition to move tomorrow, let alone fight four of the most powerful people in Honnouji Academy." Lewis said. "Somebody has to put a stop to this."

A knock at the door gave Lewis a reason enough to get out of bed. Putting on a dressing gown, Lewis opened the door to see Ryuko, looking decidedly tired and bedraggled, but also quite concerned.

"We need to talk." She stated bluntly.

"Ryuko? You don't looks so good. Why don't you come in?" Lewis offered, opening the door wider.

"I think I'll wait until you put some pants on." She said sourly.

After Lewis had washed and dressed in his casual clothes, he and Ryuko discussed why she came to him.

"It's about Mako. She's just told me that she'd challenged the Elite Four and they accepted." Ryuko said.

"Yeah, I got the call just before you arrived as well." Lewis nodded. "Isn't this a good thing though? I mean, you wanted this right?"

"It's not fighting the Elite Four I'm worried about dumbass, it's Mako." Ryuko said. "Ever since she and her family got Two Star status, everyone's become so distant. They barely even talk to each other anymore."

Lewis hummed and nodded. He was familiar with the sadness that Ryuko was feeling. "So what are we going to do?"

"That's what I came here to talk to you about." Ryuko said. "Tomorrow I'm going to quit the Fight Club and I need you to do the same."

"Huh? Why?" Lewis asked. "If I quit then not only will I get demoted again, but Mako's whole family are going to get sent back to the slums."

Ryuko nodded. "This isn't happiness they're feeling. It's greed. Mako never used to act like this, and neither did her family. They don't even try to pull that stupid Peeping Tom routine anymore."

"I would have figured that would have been a good thing…" Lewis said quietly.

"That's not the point damn it!" Ryuko shouted. "They just… They're not themselves. They're all just wallowing in opulence and not even paying any attention to each other. It's like they're not even a family anymore."

Lewis put a hand to his chin and stayed quiet for a while before nodding. "Alright. I'll quit too. I just hope that Mako can see what you're trying to tell her."

Ryuko smiled and nodded. "Thanks a lot Lewis."

"No problems." Lewis said.

"But," Ryuko continued. "If it comes down to a fight, you have to help me bring Mako back to her senses."

Lewis remembered the fight between Ryuko and Mako and shuddered. He remembered exactly how long that fight lasted and how important it was plot-wise. He really didn't want to go messing around with something like that.

"Well? Are you going to help me?" Ryuko asked.

Lewis scratched his head and nodded. "Okay, I'll help. I just hope it doesn't come down to that."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

The next day was the main event. Lewis and Ryuko walked together into the arena that had been prepared and found Mako standing in the middle, starring down the Elite Four.

"There you two are! The final showdown is here and you're both late! Where have you-" she began, but was interrupted when Ryuko and Lewis threw tossed two white envelopes at her. "What's this?"

"Our resignation letters." Ryuko said simply.

"We're leaving the Fight Club." Lewis said.

"What?! But you can't! If you do we'll all get sent back to the slums!" Mako shouted.

Ryuko breathed a little before looking at Mako again. "I'm okay with that."

"I'm not! I'm never going back there!" Mako shouted as something fell from the sky and smashed into the ground, flinging Mako away.

Lewis shielded his eyes from the flying dirt as a bright light shone from the top of Honnouji Academy. "A wardrobe?"

"Fight Club President Mako Mankanshoku! Your Two Star Goku Uniform is in that wardrobe!" Satsuki shouted from the top of the Academy. "If you wish to keep your current social standing and lifestyle, defeat Ryuko Matoi!"

"Sweet, I get off scot free." Lewis smiled, about to walk off before Ryuko grabbed his shoulder.

"No you don't." Ryuko said. "Remember our agreement?"

Lewis cringed a little but stayed where he was, arms folded to stop them from shaking.

"Defeat Matoi, and I will grant you a Three Star Goku Uniform!" Satsuki continued.

"That's playing dirty, Kiryuin!" Ryuko shouted back, pulling the needle out from her glove and undergoing her transformation sequence.

"Don't be so hasty. I'm not the one you face today." Satsuki smirked.

Lewis gulped audibly as both he and Ryuko turned to face the wardrobe as it exploded into white smoke.

"Fight Club Spec Two Star Goku Uniform! Fight Club President Mako Mankanshoku!" Mako shouted as the smoke cleared.

"Well, looks like we're in for a fight after all." Lewis gulped. "Although I will say, that coat does look really freakin' cool."

Ryuko narrowed her eyes and nudged Lewis in the shoulder. "Lewis, I changed my mind."

"Huh?" Lewis asked.

"This is something I have to take care of myself." Ryuko said.

Lewis shook his head. "Mako is my friend too Ryuko. I can't let you be the only one to fight for her."

Ryuko glared at Lewis before sighing. "You really aren't going to leave are you?"

"Believe me when I say I would if it weren't this important." Lewis frowned. "Sometimes there's no choice but to fight for your friends, even if it means fighting your friends."

Ryuko nodded before turning back to Mako.

"Lewis, Ryuko." Mako growled before launching towards the two of them. "Get ready!"

Lewis and Kamu leapt out of the way of Mako's kick as Ryuko blocked the spiked sandal with her scissor blade. Mako leapt off the scissor blade before spinning around, flinging the makeshift golden weapons she'd kept hidden in her badass coat. It was significantly less badass when Lewis had to avoid all the streaking golden projectiles. However he wasn't fast enough to dodge more than a few and ended up floored with several large welts caused by flung golden wrenches.

"Ow… Damn it." Lewis growled as he got to his shaky feet, watching the fight between Ryuko and Mako continue. "Kamu, it's time to step it up a bit."

'Gotcha.' Kamu agreed as he began to transform.

"_Sonic X!" _Lewis shouted as he began to sprint towards Mako, winding up a fierce punch. What Lewis didn't expect was Mako to grab him by the coat, do a backflip whist still holding onto Lewis and kick him away with the spiked sandals she wore. Lewis smashed against the ground headfirst and tumbled before eventually skidding to the halt on the ground. Lewis lay there, not moving as the battle continued around him.

'Why are you not getting up? I can tell you are still conscious.' Kamu asked.

"It's not a good idea to interfere with this fight." Lewis mumbled inaudibly, lying still. "Just trust me on this."

Kamu narrowed his eyes. 'Fine. But after this you are going to tell me how you know so much.'

Lewis took a sharp intake of breath but released it slowly.

"Alright." He said exhaustedly. "I'll tell you once we get home."

As the afternoon turned to evening, the fight between Ryuko and Mako drew to a close. Seeing this, Lewis slowly got to his feet. However he was doing this when Mako's fist was plummeting towards the ground. The force of the punch created a massive crater that sent the gathered crowd flying along with Lewis.

"I forgot about this part!" Lewis cried before slamming into the ground again, bouncing as he landed. "Ow…"

'You forgot?' Kamu asked.

"I told you I'd explain later." Lewis grumbled as he got back to his feet.

Ryuko peered over the side of the crater and waved to Lewis. "Oi! You okay?"

"I'm okay!" Lewis called back. "Whatever it was that made that crater woke me up!"

"Well as long as you're still alive." Ryuko said.

"Hey Ryuko, I'm gonna go home. Don't wait up for me!" Lewis shouted before running for the gate out of Honnouji Academy.

Ryuko looked out after Lewis and frowned. "Senketsu, I think we should find out what he's up to."

'Tonight?' Senketsu asked. 'But you'll miss out on the family dinner you worked so hard for.'

Ryuko looked back at Mako and her family and smiled. "I think we'll see what he's up to after dinner."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Lewis arrived back at his apartment in the slums, having been demoted the second he came through the Honnouji Academy gate. Flicking the light switch, he saw that none of the lights came on.

"Huh, that's weird." Lewis mumbled. "Whatever. It might actually be better this way."

'What do you mean by that?' Kamu asked.

"I have a feeling my apartment is bugged. I don't want anyone else to know this Kamu. I can trust you because you literally can't tell anyone else." Lewis said, drawing the curtains. "You're the only one I can trust with this information. It's probably the most sensitive information on the planet right now."

'What is it then? You promised you'd tell me.' Kamu said.

Lewis lay down on the floor and sighed, looking at the ceiling. "I'm from a different dimension. One where Life Fibres don't exist." Lewis began to explain. "The reason I know this place and the people inside it so well is because I've… I suppose studied is the best word for it. I know who's who, who's what, what's going to happen and everything that has already happened."

'How do you know this?' Kamu asked with interest.

"Because in my dimension, your reality is my fiction. Honnouji Academy, Life Fibers, Ryuko, Satsuki, Mako… they're all fictional." Lewis said.

"Like hell I am!" Ryuko shouted, slamming open the window and leaping into the room.

"Ryuko?!" Lewis cried, leaping up off the floor. "H-how much of that did you hear?"

"From the very start." She glowered, scissor blade to Lewis' throat. "Now time for you to elaborate on everything you just said."

Raising his hands defensively and shrinking away from the blade, Lewis tried to think of a way out of this situation. "L-look Ryuko, I can't-"

"Can't what?! You said you knew everything that happened right? So you know who killed my Dad!" Ryuko shouted, tears forming in the very corners of her eyes. "So tell me what you were holding out from me! Answer me damn it!"

"I can't! I can't because it'll mess everything up!" Lewis cowered. "If I screw with the timeline too much, events are going to change! I don't know how but it probably won't be for the better! In fact, it might lead to the end of humanity!"

"To hell with that!" Ryuko shouted again. "You're going to tell me who really killed my Dad or I'll-"

But Ryuko didn't finish the end of her sentence. A bright clothespin poked out from her forehead, paralysing her completely.

"What the-" Lewis gasped, turning around to see Ryuko's permanently exhausted looking homeroom teacher. "What did you do to-"

"Ryuko is fine, but she cannot move or hear anything we are saying right now." He said, dropping his disguise. "You know who I am, correct?"

Lewis cringed as his shirt started unbuttoning. "Yeah, you're the leader of Nudist Beach. Aikuro Mikisugi. Now keep your damn shirt on."

"Correct." He said, striking a pose that made Lewis severely uncomfortable. "You must realise the importance of keeping her in the dark for now."

"Yeah." Lewis nodded. "But what about Senketsu?"

The living sailor uniform glared at Lewis, Kamu and Aikuro. Lewis scratched his head and knelt down to talk to Senketsu.

"Listen, I don't know if you'll agree with me on this, but it's important that Ryuko doesn't know the things I know yet. If I screw with the timeline and tell her everything now it might result in the end of the world. But if you do want to tell her something, tell her this. 'You will find the answers you seek from Satsuki.' I'm sorry I can't say any more." Lewis sighed.

Senketsu blinked once, but Lewis didn't know if he could take this as a sign of agreement or not.

Aikuro nodded and picked Ryuko up by the midsection. "I'd better take her back to the Mankanshoku household. I don't suppose you'd be able to tell anything to assist Nudist Beach would you?"

Lewis shook his head. "Trust me, I'd love to. But if I do it'd ruin the timeline. I'd have no clue what'd happen if I did that, but it wouldn't be good."

Aikuro sighed and nodded. "Very well then."

And with that, he walked out through the front door with Ryuko under his arm. Lewis groaned and sat down again, knees drawn up to his chest.

"Well, there goes my friendship with Ryuko." He mumbled. "Damn it. I came this close to screwing up everything. I can't risk that again."


	4. Chapter 4

Lewis looked around at the crowd of One Stars, Zero Stars and Two Stars that had begun beating the living tar out of each other. Lewis thought he even caught a glimpse of the Elite Four wading through the crowd. It was only the beginning of the day and the entirety of Honnouji Academy had already descended into total chaos. All thanks to Satsuki of course.

"Oh right, it's the Naturals Election this week isn't it?" Lewis thought aloud, leaning against the wall. "I wonder how Mako and Ryuko are doing."

'Why don't you ask them yourself?' Kamu asked, pointing to the two as Ryuko carved her way through the mob of brawling students. Lewis remembered his encounter with Ryuko only a few nights ago and grimaced. Mako saw Lewis and waved, catching Ryuko's attention. Lewis turned and ran.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Mako called.

Ryuko frowned as she watched Lewis go. "Damn that bastard."

Senketsu looked up and frowned. 'Ryuko, he must have his reasons. Remember what the last thing he told you was.'

Ryuko frowned and punched a One Star in the face as he attacked her. "Yeah. Satsuki has my answers. But so does he."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Lewis sat in his apartment in the slums, starring up at the ceiling as he pondered what he should try to do next.

'You've been in here for almost a week now. Why?' Kamu asked.

"There's a war going on outside. I think if I just stay in here I'll be perfectly safe. There's no point for One Stars to come into the Zero Star district." Lewis shrugged.

Kamu hummed in understanding before speaking again. 'So then, what shall we do once this fighting ends as school begins again?'

"My first instinct is to just avoid Ryuko. I mean, she's already got Mako as a friend. That's probably more than enough. I'm just intruding on that, not to mention messing with the timeline by doing that." Lewis mumbled.

'If you must avoid the destruction of your species, then I cannot say I blame you.' Kamu said.

"Yeah…" Lewis trailed off. "That doesn't mean I have to like it."

Lewis lay in silence for a while, just staring at the roof. Then a loud crashing sound emanated from the front room. Leaping to his feet, Lewis waited for whatever made the noise before the door to his room burst in and a horde of One Stars began assaulting him.

"Get him!"

"I'm taking that scarf!"

"Like hell you are, it's mine!"

"Oh shit." Lewis gulped as he dodged the first strike of the leading One Star. "_Breaker K_!"

After Kamu wrapped around Lewis' arm he began to fight, blasting through the many One Stars that attacked him. Five One Stars leapt at Lewis at once, but Lewis drew his fist back and backhanded all five in one movement, sending them all crashing through a wall.

"Okay Kamu, new plan! We're getting out of Honnouji!" Lewis shouted, grabbing a fallen One Star and throwing him at the oncoming horde, clearing a path for him. Lewis swung a wild haymaker at the One Stars that were still coming, blowing them away from the force of the punch.

'Be careful. If you overexert yourself again you'll be sore for weeks.' Kamu warned, unwrapping from Lewis' arm and back around his neck. 'We have made an exit, let's use it.'

Lewis nodded. "You're right. _Sonic X_!"

The world blurring around him, Lewis blasted out of the cramped apartment and noticed that there was indeed a conga line of potential combatants lining up to get into his apartment.

"Geez, glad we got out of there while we did." Lewis mumbled, landing on the roof of another building before jumping off to land on another. Lewis kept running like this until he found an empty street. Landing in the street Lewis stopped to catch his breath, clutching at his arm.

'I told you.' Kamu said.

"Yeah. I guess I should stretch before fighting." Lewis grumbled, trying to shake the soreness from his right arm. "Now let's get out of Honnouji. I'm getting sick of this place."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Lewis was quite lucky to find that a bicycle shop had been broken into and looted, even though one bike remained in the shop. Now he rode along the huge highway to… wherever it led.

Lewis saw that the sun was beginning to dip lower in the sky as he continued to pedal. After hours and hours of riding, there was a loud clank and Lewis began to feel himself slow down. Coming to a stop, Lewis got off the bike to see what the problem was.

"Seriously? The gear and the chain are both busted? No wonder nobody wanted to steal this." Lewis grumbled. "Well what now?"

'I suppose we hitchhike.' Kamu said.

"Yeah, with all these cars around." Lewis said, gesturing around to the entirely empty highway. "You'd think that an oversea highway would have a few more cars than this!"

Lewis sat glumly by his broken bike before climbing the high wall on the side of the highway.

'Why are we going up here?' Kamu asked as he helped Lewis up.

"I'm gonna see if any cars are coming." Lewis said as he reached the top and stood atop the large concrete wall. Lewis was stopped by the view the vast sea, the setting sun reflecting off the waves turning the whole scene a vibrant collage of orange hues.

'Incredible.' Kamu said.

"Yeah." Lewis sighed. "Just look at that view."

Lewis stood there facing out to sea for a long time on the high concrete wall, unaware of the time passing as he watched the sun dip below the waves. But then he heard a faint sound getting louder before coming to a stop. Before Lewis was able to turn around, he felt something wrap around his waist and pull. Hard.

Lewis was pulled backwards off the wall at a terrifying speed, unable to see where he was going or what had pulled him. Lewis felt himself come to a sudden stop, right in the giant hand of Ira Gamagori.

"Are you alright?" He asked, holding Lewis in front of him in his massive hand.

Lewis was surprised by the concern Gamagori was showing. "Uh… Yeah, I'm alright, I guess."

Letting out a small sigh of relief, Gamagori's expression turned stern again. "What were you thinking, about to throw your life away like that?! It is disgraceful to think that a member of Honnouji Academy would throw their life away so easily!"

"I wasn't going to jump!" Lewis said. "I was just trying to get a lookout when I saw the sunset and I-"

"A likely story." Gamagori interrupted, dropping Lewis in the backseat of his car. "But know this. Any attempts to end your own life will be foiled. I, Ira Gamagori, have sworn to protect the students of Honnouji Academy under Lady Satsuki, even if it means protecting them from themselves."

Lewis sighed and nodded. "Thanks."

"Thank Matoi for spotting you first." Gamagori said gruffly, dropping back into the driver's seat of his car.

Looking to his left, Lewis saw Ryuko with her arms folded and frowning. Lewis suddenly felt incredibly awkward.

"Uh… Hey Ryuko." Lewis mumbled.

"Hey yourself." Ryuko said.

As the car started again, Lewis and Ryuko sat in a stony silence.

"Look, I-" Lewis began, but Ryuko held up a hand.

"Just save it. You said you're doing it because you had to, right? Or else it'd cause the end of humanity or some crap?" Ryuko said, leaning back on the car seat with hands behind her head. "You said I'll get what I wanted to know out of Satsuki right? Then fine, I'll do that. I'm not going to beat up my friends for information when there's a perfectly good enemy who'll do the same."

Lewis looked at Ryuko incredulously for a moment before smiling. "Thank you Ryuko."

"Don't mention it." She chuckled, lightly punching Lewis in the shoulder.

As the car continued driving, Lewis looked at the stars above whizz by. "This is a very nice car." Lewis said.

Gamagori nodded approvingly. "My uncle owns a car dealership in Osaka. He gave me a good deal."

Looking behind them, Lewis saw the glare of headlights. "Have you put insurance on it?"

Gamagori raised an eyebrow and adjusted one of the rear-view mirrors. "Why are you asking me that?"

"Because if those guys behind us are who I think they are, you're going to need it." Lewis gulped as the cars behind them began firing. Ducking under the back seat of the convertible, Lewis tried to avoid the Automotive Airsoft Club's fire.

Ryuko and Mako flinched away as well as Gamagori growled.

"As a matter of fact I haven't!" Gamagori bellowed as he pulled one of the spiked whips from his gauntlets and whirled it around, deflecting the plastic BBs that were fired at them.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Ryuko grunted, deflecting more of the BBs as she kept Mako safe.

"The Automotive Club and the Airsoft Club seem to have merged to form the Automotive Airsoft Club." Gamagori said as he pulled away. "I'm the one that they're gunning for. Possibly Lewis as well, since his Kamui is different to yours, Matoi."

"How's it different?" Ryuko asked.

"I think these morons have got it into their heads that anyone can use Kamu." Lewis said before a sudden thought occurred to Lewis as he peered over the back seat. "Hey Gamagori, were these guys on friendly terms with the Paintball Club?" he asked.

"The Paintball and Automotive Clubs had an intense rivalry, so I do not believe they will hold a grudge against you." Gamagori said. "The Airsoft Club however was presided over by the Paintball Club's younger brother, however he was deposed by the Automotive Club President."

'That seems needlessly complicated.' Kamu said.

"That's Honnouji Academy for ya." Lewis mumbled.

"Looks like we picked the wrong car to get into." Ruko said as she stepped above the backseat, scissor blade at the ready.

"H-hey Ryuko, be careful!" Lewis said warily.

"Interesting. But let's see if you can keep up with my driving skills!" Gamagori shouted, wrestling with the wheel.

As the car began to spin relentlessly, Lewis felt himself get flung out of the convertible only to have Kamu latch onto the backseat, keeping him from flying out of the vehicle.

"Nice save Kamu!" Lewis shouted as his sentient scarf held on for dear life.

As the car spun out into the retaining wall, Lewis and Kamu were flung over the entire car body and crashed onto the bonnet before bouncing off and landing on the ground in front of the car. Rubbing his aching body, Lewis got to his feet and looked around.

"Crap, we're surrounded." Lewis gulped.

"Hey, it's the Zero Star with the scarf!" shouted one of the Automotive Airsoft Club members.

"Looks like the President's hunch was correct!" another laughed.

"You guys think you're hot stuff don't ya?" Ryuko asked as she stood up with scissor in hand.

Gamagori jerked up from the seat and left the car. "Matoi, stay out of this. This was my mistake, so I will fix it."

"We have you cornered, Gamagori! Cry or shout all you want, you'll get no mercy from us!" the Club President hollered.

"It'll take more than the likes of you to make me cry!" Gamagori shouted back. "And even if I did shed a tear, I would wipe it away myself!"

'Uh oh, I'm going to need to take cover.' Lewis thought to himself, slinking around to safely behind the car.

"_Three Star Goku Uniform: Shackle Regalia!_" Gamagori bellowed, his uniform transforming into its more powerful form.

'What is that?' Kamu asked.

"Uncomfortable to be around. That's what." Lewis said as the gunfire commenced anew. "Although if they keep shooting like that 'uncomfortable' is going to be a huge understatement."

"Man, that thing is hard." Ryuko observed.

"It's not just hard." Gamagori said.

"Okay, I think this is about the time I stop listening." Lewis said, plugging his ears with Kamu's assistance. The gunfire was muted, but he could still hear the faint sound of Gamagori's moaning through his fingers and Kamu's fabric.

'I don't get what he's saying.' Kamu said.

"I'm not about to explain it!" Lewis glowered.

The sound of three cars smashing into Gamagori urged Lewis to look out from his cover, where he saw that the three cars were straining their engines trying to force Gamagori away.

"Damn it, impenetrable shield is right." Lewis muttered under his breath. "Though why they felt the need to make that Goku uniform look like an over-engineered gimp suit I'll never know."

"I think it's to represent how well he takes punishment." Mako said, peering over the car next to Lewis.

'When the hell did you get there?' Lewis thought as he stared at Mako incredulously before turning his attention back to Gamagori who had just made another incredibly obvious double entendre.

"He's a pervert with an old man face." Mako said, now inexplicably back with Ryuko.

'How does she keep doing that?' Lewis thought as Gamagori started transforming again. Thorny whips sprung from Gamagori's uniform, smashing the Automotive Airsoft Clubs' vehicles into scrap iron, sending the club members flying. The resulting explosion caused Lewis to shield his eyes as the force from the explosion whipped up a wind that blew Kamu's ends wildly.

"_Three Star Goku Uniform: Scourge Regalia!_" Gamagori said, striking an intimidating pose.

"Wow…" Ryuko muttered under her breath.

"Hey Kamu," Lewis said, trying to stop himself from shaking. "Let's never, ever get into a fight with that guy."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

As Gamagori's ruined car finished refuelling, Lewis found that he was unable to get his bike back in working order.

"Damn. The gears are busted to hell and the chain doesn't even fit anymore. Guess I lost a few bolts or something…" Lewis muttered. "How the hell am I going to get home like this?"

Ryuko leant on the fuel pump after she put away the nozzle. "I'd offer you a ride, but I don't think three people can fit on the scooter."

"Thanks." Lewis said before sighing. "Guess I've got a long walk ahead of me."

"Not on my watch." Gamagori said, picking up Lewis by the scruff of the neck and putting him in the backseat of his car. "They say 'A picnic is not done until you reach home safely'."

"Jeez, it's not a picnic." Ryuko said.

"I'll be waiting for you at the Sudden Death Runoff Election." Gamagori said to Ryuko as she approached the side door. "I'll arrange a fitting spot for our battle."

"Come again?" she asked.

Lewis felt he should have said something, but chose to remain quiet. As Gamagori drove off, Lewis waved goodbye to Ryuko and Mako.

"Thanks for taking me home Gamagori." Lewis said. "It's really lucky that you were driving this way."

Gamagori smirked slightly as he focused on driving. "I hope you will find that it was not luck at all. You yourself had said that context and circumstance are everything, correct?"

Lewis' eyes widened slightly as he prepared. "So those One Stars that attacked me and forced me to flee Honnouji were sent by you jerks?"

"Don't be ridiculous. We had nothing to do with them. However we did hear of a circulating rumour that your scarf was compatible with any who chose to wear it, but we chose not to dissuade it." Gamagori said. "I was also out here simply to practice my driving skills. It is merely coincidence that your bike would break down a far distance from Honnouji Academy and you would require my assistance."

Lewis smirked slightly, but also felt extremely tense. "A masterful plan, if a little excessive. Such a big net to catch a little fish like me."

Gamagori snorted in disagreement. "Your deception will no longer be tolerated. Lady Satsuki has demanded your presence."

Every single muscle in Lewis' body stiffened. "S-satsuki wants to see me? As in me personally?"

"Correct. And she will." Gamagori said, hitting a button on the dashboard that raised a steel barrier over the backseat and trapping Lewis inside.

"This isn't good." Lewis gulped as he drew closer to Honnouji Academy. "Also, why the hell would you seriously have something like that? A button that makes a cage in the back car seat? That's a pointlessly situational gadget!"

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

In the centre of Honnouji Academy, Satsuki was waiting with teacup in hand. Gamagori approached, Lewis tucked under his arm, eyes darting about trying to see an escape route with the only thought going through his head being a repeated chorus of 'This is bad, this is bad, this is bad…'

"Kamu, I have something to ask." Lewis said quietly.

'What is it?' he asked.

"Whatever you do, even if my instincts tell you, do not attack Satsuki. It will only result in bad news." Lewis said.

'Ah, the timeline. I understand.' Kamu acknowledged.

"It's less about the timeline, more about my life." Lewis gulped.

"Lady Satsuki, I have brought him." Gamagori said, planting Lewis down on the ground.

Satsuki got up from her chair and walked over to Lewis, who was desperately trying not to flee in several directions at the same time.

Satsuki looked him up and down before grabbing him by the chin and inspecting him closer, all with a deep frown of thought. Without warning, Satsuki had drawn her sword and held it up to the side of Lewis' throat. Before Lewis could even react, Satsuki had drawn the blade slightly across his throat. Lewis squaked ungracefully and jerked away, clutching at his neck.

"What the hell?! I thought you said she wanted to talk, not slice my neck open!" Lewis shouted to Gamagori.

"Hold your tongue! You are in the presence of Lady Satsuki!" Gamagori bellowed, towering over Lewis.

Satsuki looked at the blood on her black blade and back at the wound on Lewis' neck. "Gamagori. Show me his wound."

"Yes, Lady Satsuki." Gamagori obeyed, grabbing Lewis by the arm and pulling him near. Sure enough, the wound was still there and bleeding. Satsuki frowned and wiped the blood from her sword before sheathing it again.

"I have seen all that I needed. Release him." She ordered. Not a second later and Lewis was rubbing his wrists, eyeing Gamagori and Satsuki with caution.

"Mind telling me just what the hell that was about?" Lewis asked.

"I have my reasons." Satsuki said, turning away before giving Lewis a sly glance. "Context and Circumstance are everything, correct?"

Not waiting for an answer, Satsuki walked off back to her ivory tower leaving Lewis alone in the centre of Honnouji Academy.

"I hate it when my own lines are used against me. I really do." Lewis grumbled, hand covering his neck wound. "Shit, it's still bleeding!"

Kamu however was absorbing the blood greedily. 'Mmm, it's been a long time since I'd drunk your blood. I'd forgotten what it had tasted like.'

"That's not creepy at all." Lewis groaned. "We'd better get over to a doctor before I bleed out. I bet the Mankanshokus might be able to help me out. I just hope I can get there before I fall unconscious."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Lewis knocked on the door to the Mankanshoku Back Alley Clinic to have the door answered by Mako.

"Oh! Hiya Lewis, how are you?" she asked.

"Uh, I'm fine. Actually, no. No I'm not. I'm actually kind of slowly bleeding to death." Lewis said, showing Mako the wound on his neck.

"Oh no! Dad, there's a patient to see you!" she shouted, grabbing Lewis' arm. "You should come inside!"

Not really having, or needing, a choice in the matter, Lewis let himself get dragged into the clinic and soon he was set upon by Barazo.

"Ah, yeah this is a very nasty looking wound." He said as he got to work. "Looks like a slash wound, very nasty. How'd you get it?"

"I uh… Fell down some stairs." Lewis said. He really didn't think that telling people that he just got his neck cut open by Satsuki was such a great idea. He just really hoped the excuse worked as well is it did in other anime. "So how much do I owe you for fixing me up?"

"Ah, don't worry about it." Barazo said, waving his hand dismissively. "As a friend of Mako's I'll be glad to fix you up no matter how beaten up you get."

"Thanks." Lewis smiled as Ryuko entered the room.

"Hey. What are you doing here Lewis?" she asked.

"I needed to get a nasty cut on my neck fixed up." Lewis shrugged.

"He fell down some stairs!" Mako chipped in. Ryuko looked immediately suspicious.

"Okay, you're coming with me." She said, grabbing him by the collar.

"Ohgodnotagain!" Lewis squawked as the door closed behind him and Ryuko.

"So what really happened?" she asked, sitting Lewis down on the floor and sitting down with him.

Lewis touched delicately at the stitching and grimaced. "Do I really have to say?"

The look on Ryuko's face was all the motivation Lewis needed to spill the beans.

"As it turns out Gamagori was going to take me to Satsuki because apparently she wanted to talk to me and by that I mean inexplicably cut my neck open." Lewis said quickly, trying not to let his words run together.

Ryuko looked at Lewis with some scepticism before nodding. "Any idea why?"

"Not a god damned clue." Lewis said. "I'll tell you one thing, this wasn't supposed to happen. And now that it has I've got no idea how it'll affect the rest of the timeline. Hopefully this'll just be a Background Event."

"Huh? Background Event?" Ryuko asked.

"I've divided the importance of events in the Timeline into four event magnitudes. Background Events, which, if I'm lucky shouldn't affect the Timeline at all, Minor Events which shouldn't rock the boat too much, Major Events that have a huge influence on the Timeline, and the final magnitude, Disaster Events which would basically alter the entire timeline." Lewis explained. "However all the event magnitudes before Disaster Events can affect the next tier up, so I've gotta be really careful. For example, giving you the information that you'd meet up with Gamagori and get attacked today would have been a Minor Event, and would have changed quite a few details in the Timeline but otherwise keep the Timeline in order."

Ryuko looked at Lewis like he was trying to explain nuclear fission to her. "You do realise how crazy you sound, right?"

Scratching his head, Lewis sighed slightly. "I guess, yeah. I guess it's probably best if you ignore what I say anyway. No telling what I'm messing in the Timeline by-"

"Oh will you cut it out with all that destiny crap? I don't give a damn about that." Ryuko said. "I'm going to take down Satsuki and beat some answers outta her, simple as that."

Lewis nodded and stood up. "You're totally right. I think I'd better go now. Our glorious leader has something special in store for us tomorrow." Lewis said sarcastically.

"I think it'd be better for everyone if you just pretended you didn't know anything." Ryuko said. "No telling what you might let slip."

"Yeah." Lewis said. "A'int that painfully obvious."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Lewis walked back through the gates of Honnouji Academy, a bag of pre-cooked popcorn in his schoolbag for the fights ahead.

"Here it is Kamu, the Honnouji Battle Royale. Ryuko versus the Elite Four." Lewis smirked. Out in the courtyard, Lewis found that he became surrounded and corralled by One Star Students.

'This is odd.' Kamu said.

"Yeah. Why do I get the feeling that being here is a bad idea?" Lewis asked himself as a blinding light shone from the top of the academy.

"Fellow comrades of Honnouji Academy!" shouted Satsuki from the top of the Adcademy. "You have done well to struggle through seven days of mortal combat to gather here to take part in the Sudden Death Runoff Election!"

"Heh. I spent six of them hiding in my apartment." Lewis chuckled to himself, earning him angry glares from some of the battered One Stars around him.

"However, you battle has only just begun!" Satsuki announced.

"Uh oh, if this is going where I think it's going…" Lewis muttered to himself. "I need to find a way through these One Stars."

Lewis began to feel the ground rumbling under his feet as what he thought was solid ground began to rocket upwards into the air. When Lewis stopped, he saw that five other pillars were jutting out from the ground, four of them supporting the Elite Four, and Ryuko stood atop the last remaining one.

"Hang on a sec, six pillars? There weren't supposed to be six pillars!" Lewis shouted.

'It appears you were incorrect.' Kamu said.

As Ryuko, Satsuki and the Elite Four shouted at each other, Lewis was taking into account the height of the pillars. There was Ryuko, Gamagori, Inumuta, Nonon and then Sanageyama… Then Lewis realised that he was on exactly the same level as Gamagori's pillar.

"Oh crap. We're in for it now." Lewis gulped.

Ryuko and Gamagori had already leapt into the arena in the centre, but Lewis didn't really see any way he could get there without spontaneously gaining the ability of flight or ridiculous jumping ability.

'Even though I am highly adaptable, I do not think flight is one of my capabilities.' Kamu said, seemingly sensing Lewis' thoughts.

"Doesn't really matter, it's not time anyway." Lewis said as he watched the dramatic exchange between Ryuko and Gamagori. "Once the clock hits 1, then we're going to be in for the fight of our lives."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Mako, Lewis and Ryuko sat together, enjoying the packed lunch that Mako's mother had prepared for them. However Lewis had a definite feeling of oncoming dread.

"You look worried. Is something bad about to happen?" Ryuko asked.

"Yeah, you and Gamagori are about to kick my ass after lunch." Lewis grumbled through a mouthful of croquettes. "There wasn't supposed to be a sixth pillar. There was never supposed to be a sixth pillar! What the hell is Satsuki up to?"

"So I was just supposed to fight the Elite Four?" Ryuko frowned. "That would've been a lot simpler."

"But now I'm in the way." Lewis said, gulping down his chewed up croquettes. "If you don't win against me then the entire timeline gets screwed up majorly. Although I don't think I can just back out of this fight."

"So I just have to beat you huh?" Ryuko asked. "Well fine then. If you're that intent on saving the world then I'll just have to beat you and the Elite Four. Then I'll take out Satsuki."

"Alright then." Lewis nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on ya." Ryuko smirked before spotting the badly dressed homeroom teacher. "Oh great, it's this guy again."

"And like that I'm outta here." Lewis said, tossing his lunch to Mako and sprinting away.

"Hey!" Ryuko called after him before sitting back down again. "How many secrets does that idiot have to hide?"

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Lewis stood at the top of his pillar facing Ryuko, Senketsu and Gamagori. He wasn't uneasy. Uneasy would be the biggest understatement ever understated in the entirety of Honnouji Academy.

'This is going to be tough.' Lewis thought.

'I can sense your heart rate rising. Do you have a plan?' Kamu asked.

"I think so. I just hope the Gods of Comedy will allow me to get away with it. Exploiting Gamagori's most obvious weakness should be a cinch." Lewis mumbled inaudibly.

A loud crack from the top of Honnouji Academy attracted Lewis' attention as Satsuki's voice rang out clear and loud.

"Begin."

As the stairs from the pillars descended into the arena, Lewis eyed all three of his other combatants warily.

"Kamu, I know this sounds really bad but we're probably going to lose this fight." Lewis said. "That said, I have no intention of making it easy for them."

'Right. Do you have a plan?' Kamu asked.

"Yeah. Gamagori will be fairly easy to take care of, as he'll be mostly focused on Ryuko and vice versa. Ryuko on the other hand will be the bigger challenge. She and Senketsu are both independent entities, but they work as a team just like us. Ryuko's also fast and strong and Senketsu has an adapting ability. Start off with _Sonic X_ to gauge her speed, then try to hit her with _Breaker K_." Lewis muttered as his feet touched the central arena.

"Consider that your last transformation, Matoi!" Gamagori bellowed before initiating his transformation. "_Three Star Goku Uniform: Shackle Regalia!_"

As Ryuko marched up to Gamagori, they glared at each other for an extended moment in complete silence.

"Hey." Gamagori said.

"What?" Ryuko asked.

"Do you want to fight or not?"

"Of course!"

"Then why aren't you attacking me?!"

"I'll throw what your buddy said before back in your face." Ryuko grinned, starting to go on a long spiel.

"Oh boy, here we go." Lewis muttered, sitting cross legged on the arena.

"Hey, get up you slacker! You're in the middle of a fight!" Nonon shouted at Lewis from her pillar.

"Alright, fine." Lewis grumbled. "Hey Ryuko, I think I've come up with an easy way to beat Gamagori."

"Huh?" the two other combatants said, turning to Lewis as he walked over.

"Just leave this to me." Lewis said, rubbing his hands together.

Ryuko looked at Lewis sceptically but stood aside without another word.

Lewis braced his hands against Gamagori's chest and pushed. Gamagori budged a little, but didn't really move that much.

Lewis coughed slightly. "Kamu? A little help?"

Kamu's ends braced against Gamagori and he and Lewis pushed against Gamagori, eventually pushing him onto his back.

Ryuko blinked at Lewis and stabbed her scissor blade into the ground. "That's it?"

"No, not quite." Lewis said, sliding his fingers and Kamu under Gamagori's prone form and trying to roll him along the ground. "If I can just…. Roll his heavy ass… out of the… ring then… he'll be knocked out… of the elections!"

"You really are stupid aren't you?" Gamagori asked.

"Me? Who the hell wears a battle outfit with no arms?! And on that note, who the hell designed such a stupid impractical outfit anyway?!" Lewis shouted, straining under Gamagori's weight.

In a distant laboratory, a shiver of anger snaked its way up Iori's spine.

"It's a good thing I'm busy with other things to take notice of such rude remarks." He grumbled as he got back to fine-tuning his personal sewing machine.

Back in the arena, Gamagori let out a loud grumble. "I have had enough of this foolishness!"

One of the wraps came loose from Gamagori's Shackle Regalia and whipped Lewis across the face, sending him spiralling away from Gamagori as he was lifted back to his feet by the wrapping. Lewis slid to a stop before getting back on his feet, wiping at his mouth with the back of his gloved hand.

"Okay, back to Plan A." Lewis muttered.

'Plan A?' Kamu asked.

"Help Ryuko beat the tar out of this over-powered gimp." Lewis growled, getting to his feet.


	5. Chapter 5

Lewis and Kamu were having a difficult time dodging around all of the Scourge Regalia's thorned whips, but he appeared to be doing much better than Ryuko who was getting tossed around by the snapping vine like whips.

"I don't think we can keep this up for much longer!" Lewis shouted, only narrowly ducking under another whip. Not even a second after he'd said this Lewis felt another thorned whip leave its mark across his face. Lewis crashed to the ground, trying to shield himself from the further blows.

When the whips stopped Lewis got up, gingerly touching the many marks on his body.

"Jeez, that really stings." Lewis grumbled. "He's not even concentrating on us either, he's focusing on Ryuko."

'Perhaps we can use that to our advantage.' Kamu said.

"Not a chance." Lewis said, seeing Ryuko attempt her big finishing move with the only result being Gamagori swelling up like a balloon again.

"Surprised? My Shackle Regalia's surface is cloth armour, reinforced by means of special powers." Gamagori said as Ryuko glowered at him.

'What kind of special powers?' Kamu asked.

"Do you really care?" Lewis mumbled.

After Ryuko made another great declaration, she began slashing at Gamagori again only to have her scissor blade bounce off the cloth armour.

"Kamu, _Sonic X_!" Lewis shouted as Kamu transformed.

"_Scourge Regalia_!" Gamagori announced, the whips once again springing from Gamagori's body and filling the entire arena. Unfortunately Lewis' idea didn't seem too thought out, as having the extra speed didn't exactly give him better reaction times. Once again Lewis found himself barrelling into more whips than avoiding them.

"God damn it, this isn't working at all!" Lewis shouted.

'That much is evident.' Kamu said, transforming back into his normal form and trying to deflect the incoming whips, but to no avail.

"Not helping! Ow!" Lewis cried as another whip caught him full in the face. "Why do you keep hitting me in the face?!"

Unlike last time, the erratic attacks didn't seem to stop. Fighting against the stinging attacks, Lewis stood up.

"I've had enough of this. _Breaker K!_" Lewis said as Kamu wrapped around his arm. Holding his empowered arm as a shield, Lewis charged at Gamagori's unprotected back as he shouted at Ryuko, only to have several whips smack him away towards the edge of the arena.

Lewis soared over the edge, only to have Kamu unwrap slightly from his arm and grab onto the side of the arena. Lewis saw Ryuko also fall over the side and save herself in the nick of time.

"Yeah, I'm in rough shape though…" she muttered to Senketsu before noticing Lewis clinging on to Kamu for dear life. "You too huh Lewis?"

"Yeah. I don't exactly know how to survive this. I can't even get close to him!" Lewis said, fighting the urge to look down.

"Well we can't drop out. Not now." She said, pulling herself up to the top of the arena.

"She's got a point. Let's go Kamu." Lewis said as Kamu launched him up to the top before wrapping around his arm again.

"So, not only are you fools, but you are also sore losers." Gamagori snorted.

"What's bad around here is your luck." Ryuko said, pointing at Gamagori. "The bad luck of getting stuck fighting me!"

And with that, Ryuko charged and started wailing on Gamagori with her scissor blade, much to the surprise and disappointment of the crowd. Lewis however knew exactly where this was going.

"Kamu, think you can handle another transformation?" Lewis asked.

'I should.' Kamu said.

"Alright, here we go." Lewis said as Kamu began shifting into a large shield. "_Guardian G_!_"_

"Struggle all you want, you have no chance of winning!" Gamagori spat. "Learn your place as a student and quietly accept my discipline!"

"Here it comes, get ready Kamu." Lewis said, bracing himself.

"_Scourge Regalia_!"

As the whips rocketed outwards again, Ryuko started spinning her scissor blade to shred the thick spiked whips which in turn bounced off Kamu's shield form.

'It seems I'm holding together quite well.' Kamu observed.

"Yeah, scarves are very versatile." Lewis said, ducking under another flying whip.

When another piece of cut whip smacked Gamagori in the face, all colour drained from Lewis.

"Oh ho, Gamagori's pissed!" Lewis gulped.

"It still hasn't sunk through that thick skull of yours?" Gamagori seethed.

"Kamu, there's gonna be a lot of big attacks coming up! Brace yourself!" Lewis shouted.

While the whips didn't stop, there was now a lot of spiked flying discs hurtling through the air as Ryuko batted them out of the way with her scissor blade.

"Ah crap!" Lewis shouted as said discs hurtled through the air towards him as well.

"Where do you get off anyway, modifying your sailor uniform into that slutty outfit?! How utterly depraved, how utterly deviant!" Gamagori screamed at Ryuko.

"Depraved? You're one to talk!" Lewis snorted before ducking under another of the flying projectiles.

"Silence!" Gamagori roared. "My Shackle and Scourge Regalias are a symbol of my devotion to Lady Satsuki!"

"What about your precious Lady Satsuki, then?!" Ryuko retaliated.

"She is an exception!" Gamagori cried.

"Don't give me that self-serving garbage!" Ryuko screamed just before one of the flying discs disarmed her, sending her scissor blade spiralling out of her grip before she was entrapped within the spiked rings. This also presented a problem for Lewis, as he was now without a meat shield.

"And you!" Gamagori seethed, turning his attention to Lewis. "Always sneaking about in the shadows, thinking you can get away with your heinous lack of respect for Lady Satsuki! What are you hiding anyway? You know something, everyone can see it!"

"I've got no idea what you're talking about!" Lewis lied as he tried to beat away the spiked rings with the shield, but like Ryuko he was unable to hold out for long. "This isn't good!"

Gamagori let out a malicious chuckle as he stepped closer. "Did I rattle you because I hit too close to home? I'm going to mould you both into proper students! But first, Ryuko!"

As Gamagori tried to sandwich-press Ryuko, Lewis tried to escape the rings but they didn't budge no matter what he tried.

"Damn it, I've gotta get out of here before something really bad happens!" Lewis grunted as Ryuko sprang out of the mould, now back in her normal form.

"Oh, so my words finally got through to you?" Gamagori asked. "I see that you have returned to a more proper appearance."

"Who'd listen to you, you big pervert?!" Ryuko spat.

"Shit, this is the big one!" Lewis gulped, trying to move out of the way as he was still pretty much directly behind Ryuko. Seeing his only option, Lewis fell onto his side and started rolling out of the way, just as Gamagori's final and extremely phallic attack almost blew Ryuko off the side of the arena. Thankfully Lewis was able to get out of the way of the attack, but that didn't change the fact that he was still trapped by the spiked rings.

'I believe some of them may be coming loose.' Kamu said, inching his ends out of the shackles.

"Great. The sooner we get out of these god damn things the better." Lewis said, trying to get the bottom ring off with his feet.

As Lewis and Kamu were busy getting the rings off, Ryuko had started tearing Gamagori apart from the inside. Lewis tried to crane his head to watch, but they were just out of view.

As the sounds of battle happened around him, Lewis was still stuck in his shackles. He heard the footsteps of Ryuko as she cut away the shackles, freeing Lewis.

"Thanks Ryuko." Lewis breathed.

"Don't mention it." She smiled before her smile turned into a nasty grin. "Now it's our turn to fight."

Lewis paled immediately and gulped. "Wait, isn't this the part where you say that you aren't gonna be forced to fight one of your friends? And then we team up and help each other defeat the rest of the Elite Four?"

Ryuko laughed before returning to a serious look. "I'm nowhere near that sentimental. I want to prove to Satsuki that I can defeat all of her lackeys by myself!" she declared loudly before whispering to Lewis. "Besides, consider this payback for holding out all that information from me."

Lewis gulped audibly before tightening his fists. "Alright then. Let's get this over with."

Ryuko was the first to attack, swinging at Lewis with a mighty yell. Lewis sidestepped the swing and tried to elbow Ryuko in the chest, but she leapt out of the attack, cracking Lewis over the head with the back of her blade.

"You're using the blunt edge? And you're not even going to transform?" Lewis asked, rubbing the aching welt on his skull.

"I said I'd go easy on you. Or am I still too much for you to handle?" Ryuko smirked with confidence.

For some reason, this simple bit of trash-talk struck a very, very tense cord with Lewis. One of Kamu's ends snaked around Ryuko's ankle and tossed her up into the air. Kamu's other end whipped towards her as she flew through the air and grabbed onto the back of her uniform.

"We'll see if you're so condescending when your head's buried in concrete!" Lewis screamed, throwing Ryuko down back into the arena. Ryuko fell with a scream as she slammed headfirst into the arena. For a while there was an eerie silence as Lewis stared at the dust cloud. Lewis stared for a while, watching the dust cloud in the air around Ryuko.

'Is she alive?' Kamu asked.

"Don't worry, she's perfectly fine. Just angry." Lewis said as he watched Ryuko get up and brush herself off.

Ryuko glared at Lewis and raised her gloved hand. "That hurt, you ass. Now you've really pissed me off."

Lewis scowled determinedly as Ryuko pulled the pin and began to transform. "_Sonic X_!" Lewis shouted, with Kamu undergoing his own transformation.

Ryuko launched herself at Lewis with newfound speed and strength, and Lewis was only barely able to dart out of the way.

"Damn it, I forgot how fast she was." Lewis said through gritted teeth as he ran for the other end of the arena. Unfortunately a dust cloud still concealed Gamagori's unconscious form and Lewis tripped over his massive head, sending him tumbling to the edge. By the time Lewis got up Ryuko was already upon him once again, attacking relentlessly with the back of her blade. Eventually she got a good hit in, slamming Lewis right in his midsection and sending him back to the other end of the arena.

"Man, you're lighter than paper!" Ryuko snorted as she stood in the middle of the arena.

Lewis coughed as he got back to his feet. "No, you're just stronger than an ox. Guess I'll have to try a different strategy. _Breaker K_!"

Lewis charged for Ryuko and she stood still, waiting for Lewis to throw his punch.

"Senketsu Senjin."

As Lewis closed in, he saw the bright red spikes spring up all around Ryuko's body. He was moving too fast to stop and he really didn't want to get impaled on the spikes. At the last moment, Lewis threw himself to the side, trying not to get himself hurt. Ryuko grabbed Lewis and thrust him to the ground.

"I get it now. You're afraid of getting hurt." Ryuko said. "That's why you keep hiding in shadows and avoiding a fight, isn't it? You're afraid that you'll just end up in pain."

Lewis tried to break out of Ryuko's grip, but her hand wouldn't budge. "I'm not weak damn it!"

"Huh?" Ryuko asked, caught off guard by Lewis' shout.

"Stop looking," Lewis seethed, slugging Ryuko across the jaw. "down on me!"

Ryuko arced through the air, landing with a crash on the other side of the arena.

'Ryuko, are you alright?' Senketsu asked.

"Yeah, though that sorta came outta nowhere." She said, wiping her face with the back of her hand. "Hey Lewis, what the hell was that about huh?"

"I'm not weak god damn it!" Lewis shouted, holding his head in his hands. "I hate it when people look down on me because they think I'm weak! I'm not weak!"

Ryuko looked on as Lewis kept shouting. She looked really confused before sighing irritably. "I really ought to put a stop to this."

Lewis stopped his monologue for a while and watched as Ryuko marched over to him.

"G-get back! Look, I'm sorry okay? This wasn't supposed to happen! I never wanted this to happen!" he shouted before falling onto his back. Ryuko lifted her scissor blade to Lewis' face and he shielded himself with his arms. The sound of Ryuko's blade stabbing into the ground made him look out from behind his arms, to see Ryuko standing with hands on her hips.

"You don't have to be strong." She said simply.

"Huh?" Lewis asked.

"What, you need me to repeat myself? Fine then. You don't need to be strong." Ryuko said. "It's not like everyone's on their own. Sure some people may see it that way, but it's not true. There's strength in numbers. When you've got friends that'll stand with you whenever you get into trouble, then that's infinitely better than just being strong. If you can't stand up, then I'll get you back on your feet."

Ryuko offered a hand to Lewis, but he didn't take it. Instead he stood by himself and looked Ryuko in the eyes.

"If I can't stand up by myself, then how am I ever going to be able to stand with you?" he asked.

Ryuko smirked and shook Lewis' hand. "Alright, now that that's been taken care of…"

"Uh oh." Lewis gulped as he felt Ryuko's arm tense.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

When Lewis next regained consciousness, he was lying flat on his back in a small crater.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow." Lewis whimpered softly.

'Oh good, you're awake.' Kamu said. 'After Ryuko threw us out of the arena you landed quite hard, even though I tried to absorb the blow as best I could. I thought you'd be unconscious for at least a few more hours.'

"Hours?" Lewis thought before a sudden thought struck him. "Kamu, who is Ryuko fighting now?"

'That swordsman, Sanageyama.' Kamu replied.

Every muscle in Lewis' body tensed, screaming to run. "Kamu, I know I say this a lot, but we REALLY need to get out of here!"

'What is it this time?' he asked.

Lewis saw a tiny pink streak of movement glide down onto the central arena, and he knew it was too late.

"No time to explain. Only running. The sooner we get to safer ground the better. This arena's going to become a crater!" Lewis said urgently as he tried to get up. However progress was slow as everything seemed to ache. Nothing seemed broken, but it sure felt like it.

All of a sudden, Ryuko's voice could be heard from anywhere in Honnouji Academy and the landcape below.

"You BITCH!"

"Uh oh. She's really pissed now." Lewis gulped.

Climbing over the rubble, Lewis hurried to the giant grandstands that surrounded the central arena. When he made it to the seats, he saw Mako and three members of the Elite Four sitting with her. Mako waved to Lewis and he clawed his way over, dropping himself onto the seat.

"Hey Lewis! Wow, you look really beat up!" Mako said in her permanently cheerful tone.

"Yeah, it feels like it too." Lewis wheezed, feeling every one of the bruises that Ryuko gave him. "So Mako, who're your friends?"

"Don't you lump me in with this slacker!" Nonon hissed.

"I have a feeling he is just curious as to why we all appear to be sitting around her." Inumuta said calmly, fingers darting over his laptop's keyboard. "Allow me to put those ideas to rest. We merely sat here because Gamagori chose to sit here. That is all."

"Eh, fine with me." Lewis muttered, actually sitting on the seat behind them instead of draping himself over it.

"So Lewis, there is something I would like to inquire of you." Inumuta said, adjusting his glasses. "Are you familiar with the girl fighting Ryuko? A woman by the name of Nui Harime?"

Lewis took a sharp intake of breath as he recalled how much he loathed Nui. "I couldn't tell you much, since I've never met her personally. But I can tell you that she's a stone cold sociopath. She's also a massive bi-"

"What's happening to Ryuko?!" Mako suddenly interrupted.

Lewis' attention was immediately diverted to Ryuko, who was undergoing her monstrous transformation.

"Oh boy. This a'int good. Good thing I brought this." Lewis muttered, rummaging around in his bag for the bag of popcorn. "Aw man, it's all crushed. Ah well..."

Nonon looked at Lewis and scowled. "You're dumber than the Monkey, you know that?"

"Please file all complaints in the nearest paper shredder." Lewis said, tossing a few pieces of flattened popcorn into his mouth.

"Don't you even care about what's happening to your friend?" Gamagori asked.

"I'll reply to that with another question. You honestly think I'd be able to stop her?" Lewis asked. "There's nothing I can do but sit and watch as the chaos explodes. Besides, it looks like your patron saint is about to take care of things personally."

True to Lewis' words, Satsuki had descended into the now crumbling arena, black katana in hand.

"It's no good. She's completely out of control." Inumuta said, quickly reading from the data on his laptop.

"You mean she's being swallowed by the power of her Kamui?" Nonon asked.

"Matoi's body can't handle this for long." Inumuta surmised. "She'll probably die of blood loss in minutes."

"Minutes? Damn, she must have a lot of blood." Lewis said while Mako was busy freaking out. With little warning, Mako grabbed Lewis by the collar and dragged him along with her as she sped into the arena.

"Stop the dying from blood loss! Stop the blood stealing!" she screamed.

"Mako wait, why are you taking me with you?! Don't take me back there!" Lewis cried.

As Mako dragged Lewis, he saw the giant arena above them crumble into large chunks of rubble and one large chunk began hurtling directly towards them.

"Mako, look out!" Lewis shouted as Kamu wrapped around Lewis' right arm. "_Breaker K!_"

Lewis slammed his fist into the giant rock as it approached, the face of it cracking. But Lewis was straining against the immense force of the rock.

"D-damn it!" Lewis shouted through his gritted teeth. "Mako, get away! I won't be able to hold this for long!"

But instead of running, Mako started pushing Lewis from behind.

"Mako, what the hell are you doing?! Run!" Lewis grunted.

"But if you stay here then we won't be able to help Ryuko!" Mako said, pushing Lewis forward into the giant boulder.

The more Mako pushed, the more cracks began to appear in the boulder. Lewis let out a loud roar as he pushed his fist through, shattering the rock into gravel. Lewis collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Holy crap. We did it." Lewis breathed as Kamu wound his way around his neck again.

"Okay! Now let's go save Ryuko!" Mako cheered, grabbing Lewis by the collar and speeding away. "Ryuko! Don't waste it! Blood is worth lots of money!"

Just as suddenly as anything that Mako did, the Mankanshoku family car screeched to a halt beside them.

"Hey, Mako, Lewis! What's up?" asked Barazo.

"Daddy!" Mako gasped.

"What the heck are you doing here?" Lewis asked as he got to his feet.

"We drove here 'cause we wanted to see Ryuko's fight in person!" he said.

"C'mon Sis, tell us where we can sneak in!" Mataro grinned.

"Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news but..." Lewis began before Mako interrupted him again.

"This is no time to be joking around!" Mako shouted urgently. "This is a job for Mankanshoku, Back-Alley Doctor!"

"I don't know what's going on, but leave it to me!" Barazo said with newfound determination as both Mako and Lewis leapt into the cart.

'This appears to be a fine mess we have involved ourselves in.' Kamu observed.

"You really like your understatements don't you?" Lewis grumbled, the bruises making their presence known once again. However Sukuyo started treating Lewis with some ice.

"We saw your fight with Ryuko on television." she said, busying herself with preparing some other medicines. "It was a very short match wasn't it?"

Lewis snorted and looked at the speeding scenery. "I guess I should be glad for that."

"But, I could tell that Ryuko didn't really want to hurt you." she said. "She's a very nice girl to her friends."

Lewis nodded in agreement, but his thoughts were a little more grim. 'Although how long that friendship is going to last is anyone's guess. Especially with everything that's going to happen in the future.'

Lewis was interrupted from his thoughts by the disturbing amount of things exploding.

"Oh look, that'll be Tsumugu." Lewis muttered under his breath.

'The same from a few days ago?' Kamu asked.

"Yep. And now thanks to Mako we're right in the middle of a cornucopia of danger." Lewis gulped before noticing something else. Satsuki had just appeared. "Things are about to get interesting."

A great wind sprang up out of nowhere, like the shockwave of an explosion. Lewis took this opportunity to leap out of the now rocking cart and make a break for the walls of Honnouji Academy.

'Where are we going?' Kamu asked as he and Lewis began scaling the wall.

"Away from here. As much as I'd love to watch this, Nui is too dangerous to be around. If she spots us then it's only a matter of time until we're dead. In fact, if she even knows about us we're dead. And I plan on living for a very long time to come." Lewis said as he stood atop the wall to Honnouji Academy. "This is our best chance to escape. Nui is distracted by Ryuko and Satsuki fighting. Everybody else who would try to stop us is incapacitated or escaping themselves. If we don't get out of here now we never will."

A sudden explosion of an oily black substance caught Lewis' attention once more. Lewis couldn't help but watch the events as they developed. It seemed almost staged, like it was some great drama unfolding before him some great distance away. As Ryuko reverted from her monstrous form and the steam dispersed, he saw the reunion of Mako and Ryuko. Turning back away from the sight, Lewis leapt from the wall into the city below.

"We'll need to hide for a few days. We're going to have to hide in the sewers for a while." Lewis muttered.

'Why there?' Kamu asked.

"Because Honnouji is probably the safest place to be, even with that pink maniac there. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but trust me on this." Lewis said. "Don't worry, when we're down in the sewers I'm finally going to do something that I should have been doing a long time ago."

'And what might that be?' Kamu asked.

Landing on the ground, Lewis stood and looked over Honnouji. "Training."

Back in the arena, Satsuki sheathed her black sword.

"Ryuko! Ryuko! Is she dead?" Mako panicked.

"She's passed out, that's all." Satsuki said. "Mankanshoku, she survived thanks to you."

"L-Lady Satsuki? What're you doing here?" Mako gasped. "Uh, I mean, how do you know my name? I mean, Ryuko! Talk to me!"

As Satsuki walked away, she was once again approached by the deadly blonde. "Aw, the ending turned out to be a real letdown." she said, the deceiving smile still on her face.

Satsuki glanced back at Harime and frowned. "Harime Nui, you are hereby banned from Honnouji Academy."

"Huh?" Nui asked.

"I'll deal with both Ryuko Matoi and the Kamui." She stated flatly. "Meddle in my affairs again, and Grand Couturier or not, I will show you no mercy."

"Aw, don't be mean!" Nui huffed. "I guess your affairs also include that other boy with that scrap Kamui?"

"Leave." Satsuki ordered before marching off.

"Fine, fine, you've made your point!"Nui giggled before muttering quietly to herself. "As if!"

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Lewis dropped himself into the corner of the small abandoned room that he'd found, panting heavily. Grasping a bottle of water with dissolved salt and sugar, he drained the entire thing in one go.

'Are you sure that you need to do this alone?' Kamu asked from his perch on a coat hanger.

"We're a team Kamu." Lewis gasped, tossing the plastic bottle away. "If you do all the work then it's going to be too easy to defeat the both of us. I need to get stronger."

A timer on a small wooden crate let out a shrill ring and Lewis hauled himself up again, tightening the wraps on his hands before laying into the punching bag he'd nicked from the now defunct Boxing Club. As Lewis practiced his routine of three left jabs and a strong right, Kamu gazed over the many weights and other exercise paraphernalia Lewis had taken from the Boxing Club's storage rooms.

'Are you sure they won't mind you stealing all of this?' Kamu asked.

"Not! Stealing! Borrowing!" Lewis grunted, each word punctuated with what he hoped to be a vicious right hook. "Besides! Boxing! Club! Disbanded! Since! Takaharu! Got! Ass-whupped!"

'I see.' Kamu hummed, spying a clock with a broken on the wall that indicated that it was nearing eight o'clock. 'Are you sure you don't want to have a break? You have been attacking that bag since this morning.'

Another timer let out a shrill ring and Lewis dropped himself in the corner again, grabbing another bottle of sugary and salty water. "I have been taking breaks. These are my breaks."

'They're thirty seconds long. Each.' Kamu said. 'Remember what I said about pacing yourself.'

After draining another bottle, Lewis threw it violently at the steadily growing pile in the corner of the room. "I don't have time for that damn it! If I can't keep up I'm going to get killed! You've seen some of the biggest players, Kamu. Satsuki, Nui, Ryuko, they're all ridiculously powerful! And they're not even the biggest threats. Not even close. Normally I'd just give up and roll over, but not this time. Not when it's our lives on the line." Lewis said, hanging his head. "I'm not going to give up. I've done that too many times in my life."

The shrill alarm rang again and Lewis lifted himself to his feet. 'Aren't you worried that someone will find us?'

"Nui is too busy toying with Ryuko." Lewis said, approaching the punching bag. "If Satsuki finds us she won't give a damn, so she's not a problem."

"And what about me?" Asked a deep voice from the shadows after Lewis laid a strong punch on the boxing bag.

Lewis turned his head to the source of the voice and scowled. "Tsumugu."

The burly agent of Nudist Beach stood up from his hiding spot and began walking towards Lewis "I want to talk with you."

"What about?" Lewis asked, reaching for Kamu.

"About your scarf. It's dangerous you know." He said.

"I know what it is, and I'm not about to hand it over." Lewis stated. "Did Aikuro put you up to this?"

"You saw what happened to Ryuko when her Kamui took control of her. You saw the destruction she caused." Tusmugu said bluntly. "I'm going to tell you two useful pieces of information. One: three people are running around in Kamuis. Two: this poses a huge danger to humanity."

"Ryuko only went berserk because her emotions spiralled out of control!" Lewis interjected.

"And who's to say it won't happen again?" Tusmugu asked, holding out his hand. "I'm not going to ask again. Hand over that scarf."

Lewis growled a little and frowned. "You're planning on destroying Kamu?"

"That is correct." Tsumugu said.

"This isn't like you." Lewis snarled, throwing Kamu around his neck. "You were in a perfect position to just kill me and take Kamu if you really though I was a threat. What are you playing at?"

Tsumugu frowned and unholstered one of his sewing machine guns. "He told me that you weren't to be killed under any circumstances. However, he never said anything I couldn't do to you if you resisted."

"I'm guessing that he didn't put you up to this though, did he?" Lewis asked.

Tsumugu grunted again and tightened his grip on his weapon. "I've had enough of this. You've made your choice."

As Tsumugu raised his weapon, Lewis took a deep breath. "What happened to your sister was a tragedy. But she died trying to find humanity's salvation. Don't you have faith in what she believed?"

Tsumugu stopped immediately and stared at Lewis. "How-"

"Aikuro didn't tell you who I am, did he?" Lewis asked, eyebrow raised. "I know things Tsumugu. The existence and purpose of Life Fibres, the goals of Nudist Beach, what the Kiriuins are up to, everything. And there's no way in hell I'm going to tell anyone."

"Then you're a bigger risk than I thought." Tsumugu said, holding the sewing machine gun to Lewis' forehead.

Looking the much larger man in the eyes, Lewis uttered one final sentence. "If he didn't think I could be trusted, do you think Aikuro would have kept me alive?"

Tsumugu paused again for a long time before holstering his sewing machine gun and turning away. "Fine. We will be keeping an eye on you anyway. Don't think that this is over."

After Tsumugu closed the door to the abandoned room, another shrill timer rang. Lewis sighed as Kamu's eyes shifted up.

'Masterfully done.' Kamu said simply.

"You think so?" Lewis breathed, collapsing to the floor. "It's a good thing I didn't get into a fight. I don't think we could've stopped him in my current state. I'm exhausted…"

'Maybe now is a good time for you to get some rest. You've been overexerting yourself again.' Kamu advised. However, Lewis was already sound asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Over the course of the next day, Lewis had watched the entirety of Honnouji Academy begin mobilization for its country-wide Battle Field Trip. Glancing at the preparing caravans as night fell, Lewis began slinking through the corridors of Honnouji Academy.

"Okay, so it's the time for the Battle Field Trip. That means that we've got a whole day until we're alone in the Academy. Then we'll be able to use the entire school's facilities for our own purposes." Lewis muttered.

'So why are we still sneaking around?' Kamu asked.

"Because I don't want to take any chances." Lewis muttered, watching a patrol of Disciplinary Students pass by a connecting corridor. "If memory serves me right then that means Senketsu has been torn to shreds. Ryuko's out of commission and Mako's been drafted. If I'm careful, that means that nobody's going to notice me get left behind with all the other Zero Stars, so we'll be able to train in relative peace. Although it seems Gamagori's leaving a skeleton guard behind"

'Perhaps to keep Honnouji in order.' Kamu agreed.

"For now, we get back to the hidden room and start training again." Lewis muttered as he peered around another corner.

Slinking through more corridors, Lewis kept an eye out for anyone that looked like they might spot him. Creaking open the door to the stairwell, he heard his footsteps echo loudly even though he was being careful not to make any sound.

"Damn these stairwells." Lewis muttered as he heard a loud crashing noise from above him. "Someone's coming!"

The sound of clacking footsteps reverberated from the top of the stairwell of the stairwell as Lewis glared and got ready for a fight.

'Who could it be?' Kamu asked.

"It seems Nui's stuck around for longer than I thought. She never did listen to Satsuki anyway." Lewis growled. "Get ready Kamu. This is going to be a hell of a fight."

Without warning, a blinding light shone from around the corner of the stairwell as the loud sound of Satsuki's footsteps echoed through the stairwell.

"Oh." Lewis muttered as Satsuki descended, heels clicking on the concrete stairs.

"So, you managed to survive the Naturals Election, even though you were defeated early." She said uninterestedly. "You are certainly not who I initially thought you were."

Lewis' brow lowered in confusion as he wondered what Satsuki meant. "Wait, who did you think-"

"That doesn't matter." Satsuki interrupted, smacking the butt of her sheath into the ground. "Ever since setting foot in Honnouji Academy your activities have been monitored. It appeared for a while that you were an infiltrator, but that time has seemed to pass."

The hairs on the back of Lewis' neck began to stand on end. "So, you know what I am?"

"Indeed." Satsuki nodded. "You seem to have knowledge of my plans that only the most trusted of my troops retain."

"Just get to the point already, Kiriuin." Lewis grumbled. "You of all people wouldn't come here just to gloat."

"I want you to go on the Tri-City Schools Raid Trip." She ordered.

Lewis paused for a moment, not expecting Satsuki to have asked him that. "Uh… Come again?"

"All students of Honnouji Academy that have proven their usefulness to me are to be deployed to the various regions around Kansai. You should be among them." She continued. "Normally I would have Gamagori take care of this, but I feel that you would not have listened if it were him."

Lewis frowned as Satsuki took her leave back up the stairs.

"You thought I was Nui, didn't you?" Lewis asked.

Satsuki stopped and turned around again, the bright light shining once more. "What I once thought is of no concern! You will follow my orders or be crushed beneath those who do!"

With that, Satsuki left once again, leaving Lewis and Kamu alone in the stairwell. Lewis took a seat on the stairs and looked up to the ceiling. "Oh boy, what a nightmare this has turned out to be, eh Kamu?"

'Has this changed our plans?' Kamu asked.

"Pretty much, yeah." Lewis muttered, getting up once more. "I had intended to just stick around Honnouji and train some more, but it looks like Satsuki's strongarming me into fighting for her."

'So are we to do what she ordered?' Kamu asked.

"I guess so." Lewis said, getting to his feet. "I doubt Ryuko's going to be happy about it, but I think I'll be able to slip away once we get to our destination. I'm going to see if we can catch a ride to Osaka."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Sure enough, Lewis had managed to catch a ride in one of the supply vans that was on the way to Osaka. Lewis hadn't been issued one of the new Goku Uniforms, but he didn't really mind. He was only on the resupply chain after all. He had just been getting some quality sleep in when the truck screeched to a halt.

"Alright, everybody off!" shouted the commander.

"About damn time." Lewis muttered, getting to his feet as he dropped off the back of the truck. As the others began their supply chain duties, Lewis snuck away from the others and began wandering around the town of Osaka.

"Wow, this place is a lot bigger than I thought it would be." Lewis muttered. "Shame I don't have much money. Not a great idea wandering around a merchant town with no cash."

'You know a few things about this place, do you?' Kamu asked.

"Yeah. When I went to high school in Australia we had a sister school located somewhere in Osaka. I don't think that's the case in this world however." Lewis muttered as he heard a few explosions off in the far distance. "Whoop, looks like the raid's starting. Seems like all our pals from Honnouji are going to be facing off against the Dosh King's forces. I think we'd better get to some high ground to get a look, since we don't have much cash to spend."

'Dosh King?' Kamu asked as Lewis busied himself with scaling a nearby skyscraper.

"Takadara. It's a colloquial nickname for the big-shot around here." Lewis said as Kamu assisted him leaping across gaps between the skyscrapers as he made his way to the scene of the battle. "Come to think of it, I should get a pair of binoculars or something. It would make watching these fights way easier."

As Lewis was busy building jumping, he failed to notice about two of people with an enormous rifle between them. Landing heavily on the building they were on, they turned around and gasped.

"It's an agent from Honnouji!" one of them cried.

"What's he doing here?" shouted the other one.

"Just shoot him!" the first one responded as the second one whirled around the giant rifle.

Lewis noticed just as they swung the rifle around and leapt into the air as they shot, the giant green bullet passing underneath him and rocketing into another building.

'Was that… money?' Kamu asked as Lewis hit the ground.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Lewis grinned. "The guys around here literally weaponize money."

"Crap, he dodged it! Come on, reload!" shouted the spotter as the rifleman fumbled with a rolled up wad of cash.

Lewis sprang forward and landed a strong right into the rifleman's face, sending him crashing straight through the steel railing and falling onto a window washing platform a fair distance below. Kamu wrapped around the neck of the spotter and held him over the edge of the building.

"Now, here's what you're going to do." Lewis said sternly. "You're going to join your buddy down there, and then you're going to leave. Got me?"

"Y-yes!" the spotter gulped before Lewis let him drop onto the washing platform below.

Lewis picked up the obscenely large rifle and studied it, as well as noticing the large amount of money sitting in an ammunition box beside him. It looked more like an artillery cannon than a sniper rifle, with an absurdly large telescoping barrel and a flip-out chamber. Currently inside the chamber was a large rolled up wad of money.

"Something this absurdly wasteful doesn't deserve to exist, but I think it might be wise to repurpose this." Lewis said, picking out the money and stuffing it into his pockets before slinging the rifle onto his back. "Now that we've got something to spend, let's get some of that takoyaki I've heard so much about!"

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

By the time Lewis had arrived in the vendor streets, they were entirely empty.

"Aw man, it looks like they've all gone to join the Dosh King. The scent of money is powerful stuff…" Lewis muttered as he looked around.

'So what shall we do now?' Kamu asked.

Before Lewis was able to respond, he heard a low rumble. Looking over to a large dust cloud looming over the horizon, he saw hundreds if not thousands of terrified people all fleeing for their lives.

"Huh, looks like Satsuki's arrived and has been putting on a show." Lewis mumbled, scrounging around in his pockets and pulling out wads of money as they all drew closer. "Hey, shopkeepers! I want to buy something!"

The crowd didn't stop like Lewis anticipated. Instead they all charged onwards, as if they were completely oblivious to Lewis' presence and the money he held.

"Uh oh." Lewis gulped before turning and beginning to sprint away. "We've gotta find a side-street, otherwise we're gonna be crushed in this stampede!"

The stampede grew louder as they encroached upon Lewis, and not a single alley was available as they were all stuffed with empty vendor stalls and shops.

"Damn it!" Lewis snarled. "Kamu, it's time for another transformation."

'Another?' Kamu asked before grunting an agreement. 'Very well!'

"_Jetpack N_!" Lewis roared as Kamu transformed into a pair of straight wings with a single turbine spitting pink flame situated on Lewis' back. Lewis rocketed upwards into the sky and watched as all the frightened people below continued their stampede. "Whew. Glad we got out of that. Hey Kamu, how long do you think you'll be able to keep this up?"

'Quite some time I imagine.' Kamu replied, eyes shifting to the large steel-frame tower that seemed to be slowly breaking apart. 'What is going on over there?'

"I'd imagine that Satsuki and Ryuko are duking it out again." Lewis said. "I want to see this!"

Lewis soared through the air towards the scene of the battle before landing down at the top of a crumbling building.

"Oh man, this town has gotten wrecked by Satsuki and her goons hasn't it?" Lewis muttered as he surveyed the scene with the giant rifle he'd picked up. "The zoom on this thing is pretty good. I can actually see the Elite Four down there."

'What are they doing?' Kamu asked.

"Fighting Nudist Beach." Lewis responded, lowering the rifle. "Aikuro, Ryuko, Satsuki and all the rest are down there fighting."

'We aren't going to get involved?' Kamu asked.

"Nope. As much as I hate doing nothing, getting involved at this point would likely break a plot-crucial point." Lewis muttered.

"Aw, and I wanted to see how you fought." whined a girly voice from behind them.

Lewis gasped and whirled around, spotting Nui Harime standing before him.

"You!" Lewis gulped, aiming for the pink-clad demon. "What the hell are you doing here?! You're not supposed to be here!"

"I go wherever I want, and nobody can stop me." Nui giggled. "I wanted to see Junketsu and Senketsu fighting it out, but I didn't expect to see you and that filthy scrap Kamui here! It's my lucky day!"

Kamu's eyes narrowed in annoyance. 'Scrap Kamui? The nerve!'

Lewis frowned as well, tightening his grip on the rifle. "So, how'd you find out about us huh? Did Satsuki tell you?"

"I saw you when you were running away from the Naturals Election, and Satsuki told me that I wasn't allowed to kill you and that rag. You're a real coward, y'know that?" she asked, airily swaying on her feet.

"I just do what I can to stay alive." Lewis spat.

"But how can you stay alive in this world if you're weak?" she asked with a smile.

"That's why I'm planning on changing this world." Lewis glowered at Nui before shouldering his weapon. "It's painfully obvious that you're looking for a fight. If that's what you're after then you can forget it. There's no point to fighting you."

Nui disappeared and Lewis heard her voice right behind him.

"If that's the case, then you can die right now. What Satsuki doesn't know won't hurt her." she said.

Kamu instinctively whipped around to protect Lewis from the scissor blade, wrapping around Nui's arm and flinging her in front of him. Lewis leapt backwards over the side of the building and began running down the side, fleeing from Nui. The crazed tailor appeared in front of him, a smile on her face.

"Running away won't save you." she said as she brought the blade down.

Lewis sprang off the side of the building at the last moment and rolled as he landed. Getting to his feet, he ran for the battle in front of him.

'Why are we going towards the huge conflict?' Kamu asked, keeping an eye out for Nui.

"Nui is still under direct orders from Satsuki. If she discovers that Nui tried to screw with me, then there's going to be hell to pay." Lewis panted.

"My, my. You're observant." Nui said as she drew up beside Lewis before swinging her blade into his side, sending him spiralling off into the ruins of a destroyed building. "But I just have to stop you before you get to the other battle."

Lewis coughed, a small amount of blood spattering into Kamu. "Damn it, looks like we're going to have to fight." Lewis grunted, getting back to his feet. "_Sonic X_!"

Lewis sprinted out of the rubble, a trail of green bills spilling out of his pockets as he went. Lewis whirled around Nui, creating a blinding screen of money.

"Wow, this is really annoying." Nui sighed, swinging her scissor blade to clear the air of the blinding storm of money. Lewis slid to a stop beside the purple blade and slammed his fist into it, burying it into the ground.

"_Breaker K_!" Lewis shouted as Kamu wrapped around his arm. Lewis launched himself towards Nui and thrust out with a strong right, but Nui seemed to dodge effortlessly out of the way.

"You'll never hit me like that!" she smirked, lashing out with a kick that caught Lewis in the gut sending him flying backwards. Lewis recovered in the air and slid to a stop before he could crash into another building.

Lewis panted heavily as he let out a grin. "Who said I had to hit you? _Sonic X._"

After Kamu's transformation, Lewis sprinted towards the roiling battle again. Nui was hot on his heels, but Kamu had one last transformation.

"_Jetpack N_!" Lewis shouted as Kamu lifted him into the air and away from Nui.

"Aw, you can fly? That's no fair." She whined.

"Who the hell said I cared?!" Lewis spat as he soared off.

As Lewis rocketed towards the battle, he let out a deep sigh. "So now you know why she scares me so much."

'It is awfully convenient that she is unable to fly. However why we simply did not fly away to begin with is beyond me.' Kamu said.

Lewis nodded before looking down at the battle beneath him. "Looks like we're coming up on the battle now. Guess we're actually going to have to do something or else Nui is going to descend on me like a hawk again. _Guardian G!_"

Kamu's wrapped around Lewis' arm to form the large shield and Lewis began to fall back to earth. Shield to the ground, Lewis crashed into a group of One Stars in their specialised uniforms. Rolling back to his feet, Lewis looked around and saw that he'd been surrounded by students.

"It's the other deserter!" one shouted.

"Capture him!" another ordered.

"He must be aiding the enemy!" a third cried as they charged towards him.

Lewis lifted his shield up and braced himself. "_Guardian's Scourge_!"

Parts of Kamu lifted away from the main body and began to flail about, smacking away Lewis' assailants.

'It seems copying the attacks of our enemies is proving to be quite effective.' Kamu observed as Lewis brought the shield around and charged, sending more students flying as he went.

"Yeah, although I don't know how long you can keep this up!" Lewis shouted.

'That is why I suggested we trained together.' Kamu said as he eventually returned back to a shield form.

"Okay, that'll be next on our list." Lewis muttered as another student wielding a bamboo sword charged towards him. "_Guardian's Shackle_!"

Kamu opened up like a maw and grasped a hold of the student, bringing him into Lewis' shield. Lewis whirled him around and released, sending him crashing into a number of other students.

"Wait, I recognise those attacks! He's imitating Gamagori!" one of the students shouted.

"Took you long enough to notice!" Lewis laughed. "Now get outta my way, or I'll show you exactly how bad you can hurt!"

A scant few One Stars backed away, but the rest remained firmly rooted.

"How dare you imitate one of the Elite Four! This mocking parody will not go unpunished!" shouted a fairly burly student who Lewis guessed was a part of the disciplinary force.

"You don't like that? Well let me show you something original then!" Lewis shouted back as Kamu began shifting again. "_Breaker K_!"

"That's nothing! Taste the iron-clad rules of Honnouji Academy!" the student shouted, flinging the deadly projectile at Lewis. Whipping around, Lewis managed to dodge the rulebook. Toes digging into the earth, Lewis charged at the students and delivered a strong right. The disciplinary force member cannoned backwards into a crowd of other students, sending them all flying into the air.

'You really have gotten stronger.' Kamu observed as Lewis watched the students fall back to the ground.

"Yeah. I guess training works differently in other dimensions." Lewis gasped. "Normally to get stronger I'd have to undergo months of dedicated training and modify my eating habits. Guess things just happen here because the plot demands it. Then again, it could just be an example of Mook Power Scaling."

'And there you go with your crazy talk again.' Kamu said, rolling his eyes.

Lewis whirled around, ready to take on the rest of the students when a loud shout echoed around the city. "All students, stand down from combat! We are retreating to Honnouji Academy!"

Lewis glanced over to the source of the shouting and smirked. "Good ol' Eyebrows." he chuckled before turning back to the other students. "Well, you idiots heard her!"

As Lewis watched the students surrounding him dissipate, he spotted Ryuko and Mako standing by Satsuki. Ryuko spotted Lewis and waved. As Lewis waved back, he heard a loud explosion that left his ears ringing.

"What was that?!" Lewis shouted as he reeled from the force of more explosions underground.

'It seems something is causing some severe damage below ground.' Kamu said, helping Lewis to stay on his feet.

As Lewis regained his balance, he saw that Satsuki was flying away in her private helicopter, the rest of her troops following behind on land. Lewis sighed and scratched his head, looking around at the disastrous landscape around them as he wandered over to Ryuko, Mako and Aikuro.

"Man, Eyebrows really did a number on this place, didn't she?" Lewis sighed. "Hey guys. You doing okay?"

"Lewis!" Mako gasped.

"Just what the hell are you doing here?" Ryuko asked. "And what's with that gun?"

"Satsuki strongarmed me into helping. I only took out like, two Osakans on a rooftop somewhere over there." Lewis said, pointing to one of the destroyed buildings. "Don't worry, I took out easily twenty times that many students."

"Well it doesn't appear to have made much of a difference." Tsumugu said as he approached the group.

"Indeed." Aikuro said as all five of them watched Satsuki's forces leaving. "This cost us most of Nudist Beach's' forces. Still, we should be grateful that we're alive. You fought Satsuki Kiriuin to a draw. That was impressive, Ryuko."

As the others talked quietly, Kamu's eyes looked up at Lewis. 'You're not going to tell them of your fight with Nui?' he asked.

"No. They don't need to know that she was here." Lewis muttered inaudibly. "It wouldn't make much of a difference anyway."

Aikuro turned to look at Lewis. "We are going to return to Nudist Beach's headquarters. There we will explain everything."

Lewis snorted and turned away. "No thanks. I already know everything I need to. Thanks for the offer though."

"Even how your scarf became a Kamui?" Aikuro asked, eyebrow raised.

Lewis stopped and turned around, looking at the glowing nudist. "Excuse me?"

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Lewis, Mako and Ryuko sat in on a few plastic chairs in a drained swimming pool in the inner sanctum of Nudist Beach's' headquarters as Aikuro and Tsumugu explained the existence, history and purpose of Life Fibres.

"Now Ryuko, how many organisms on this planet do you know of that wear clothes?" Aikuro asked.

"Just humans, duh." Ryuko said.

"Correct." Aikuro said gravely. "Out of the countless species on Earth, the only one to wear clothing is Homo Sapiens. And why do you think that is? It is not that only humans wear clothing, but rather the creatures who wore clothes became mankind as we know it today! Life Fibers caused Homo Sapiens, previously just one of many anthropoids, to evolve this far. Mankind was chosen by clothing!"

'It sounds ridiculous coming from him, but it seems to validate what you told me earlier.' Kamu said.

Lewis looked incredibly dubiously at Aikuro and rolled his eyes. "It seems kinda stupid, but sometimes truth is stupider than fiction. Especially coming from a man whose only clothing is a few strategically placed belts and a lab coat."

"Clothing chose mankind?" Ryuko asked furiously, getting up from her chair. "What do you mean?"

"Life Fibers are an extraterrestrial lifeform!" Aikuro said bombastically as the image of several galaxies appeared on the screen behind him. "They came to Earth in ancient times and influenced human evolution!"

"One of these days someone is going to have to explain to me why his privates glow." Lewis grumbled under his breath.

As the rest of the group began freaking out at Aikuro's explanation, Lewis grew more impatient. But then as Aikuro explained how Life Fibers were a parasitic organism, another question arose in Lewis' mind that he couldn't quite answer himself. After Senketsu's purpose was revealed to Ryuko and she went into a thousand-yard stare of thought, Lewis stood up from his chair.

"Hold on a minute, something doesn't add up." Lewis said. "Kamu doesn't constantly feed off me like other Kamuis. So is he not made of Life Fibers?"

Aikuro smirked and collapsed his pointer. "That would trace back once again to the founder of Nudist Beach."

"Kamu's connected to dad?" Ryuko asked, looking at the scarf.

"Indeed. In fact, he was created with a similar purpose as Senketsu." Aikuro explained. "However, he was very different. He was a failed experiment, or so we thought."

'Failed experiment?' Kamu gasped.

"Eeeeeh?!" Mako gasped. "You mean Kamu is Senketsu's brother?!"

"Kamu is an engineered sub-species. So he would be more like cousin." Aikuro corrected.

"What do you mean?" Lewis asked.

"Before he created Senketsu, The Doctor wanted to create a kind of Kamui that anyone could wear. He experimented relentlessly with different ways to create it, including encoding the Life Fibers themselves with the DNA of humans." Aikuro said, briefly glancing at Tsumugu. "But when even that failed, he abandoned the project. However, he was unable to destroy all the failed prototypes. The scarf that became Kamu, the last of the Human-Encoded Life Fibers, was all that was left."

Lewis sat back, smoothing back his hair as he did when he got nervous or confused. "So why doesn't he take blood? When he was first awakened he almost sucked me dry, but he didn't take any afterwards."

"That is because Kamu is a human in the body of Life Fibers!" Aikuro shouted. "Kamu is like a human, and has a heart of his own! It beats for him, and he uses your blood to survive!"

Lewis stared incredulously at Aikuro and shook his head. "Then how the hell did I get it all the way over in Australia?! Kamu was a gift from my mother, this doesn't make sense!"

"I have a theory." Aikuro said. "When The Doctor was assassinated, much of the mansion was destroyed. It's possible that in the midst of the fight, Kamu was blown up into the atmosphere by the heat of the inferno, then carried by wind currents in the sky all the way to Australia, where it came into the hands of your mother."

Lewis smoothed back his hair some more as he thought, almost tearing some out in the process. "I guess… I guess that's the most viable explanation for it. So, what? Kamu was intended for mass production?"

"That is a possibility." Aikuro agreed. "However, Kamu is the only one of his kind left, and he has been encoded with your blood so that only you may be able to wear him. This means that you must join Ryuko in the fight against Life Fibers."

There was a great period of silence as Lewis, Kamu, Ryuko and Senketsu all digested the information they'd received.

"OOOoooh now I get it." Ryuko groaned. "So you're telling Senketsu and I to fight hand-in-hand for the sake of mankind, huh? And you want Lewis and Kamu to fight as well?"

Ryuko made another big sigh of understanding that eventually turned into a shout of rage.

"To hell with that!" Ryuko bellowed, slamming a foot down on her chair.

Seemingly unfazed, Aikuro narrowed his eyes slightly. "Ryuko?"

"You mean to say Senketsu and Kamu are just weapons? Combat outfits made purely for battle?" She shouted. "You've gotta be kidding me. They've got a mind of their own. Now you're telling me that they were born to kill their brethren? I feel so damn sorry for them!"

With that, Ryuko started tearing off Senketsu before throwing the uniform onto her chair.

"Ryuko, what the hell?" Lewis asked, getting to his feet.

"This is Nudist Beach right? So what's wrong with me stripping off?" she growled. "I can't fight while wearing you! You don't need to fight either!"

Tsumugu unholstered one of his sewing machine guns and cocked it loudly. "Let me tell you two useful pieces of information." He began. "One: there's no reason for a Kamui that doesn't fight to exist. Two: I won't hesitate to destroy any such Kamuis."

"Calm down Tsumugu, you're making this worse." Lewis said. "We've gotta think this through logically and-"

"You'll have to do it over my dead body." Ryuko hissed, completely ignoring Lewis.

"Fine by me." Tsumugu smirked.

Lewis glared between Ryuko and Tsumugu, ready to step in if things got violent.

"I was just thinking that I needed to settle things with you." Ryuko spat.

"You honestly think a half-naked highschooler is able to defeat me?" Tsumugu grinned.

"You think your threats are gonna faze me?" Ryuko asked with similar venom. "I can go full on naked if it'll even the odds."

"No you can't!" Mako shouted, suddenly appearing between the two with a chorus of 'halleluiah'. "A girl only reveals herself in her full glory to the person she loves most in the entire world! Can you honestly say that you love Mr Mohawk that deeply, Ryuko?"

"I can't tell if she's teasing Ryuko or not." Lewis muttered.

'I believe the Mankanshoku girl is entirely incapable of teasing or negative emotion.' Kamu said simply.

"Uh, that's not the point." Ryuko interrupted.

"After all, the reason you wear Senketsu is because you love him the most, right?" Mako continued, oblivious to Ryuko and Lewis' words. "You'd never be able to wear a piece of living clothing otherwise! That'd just be icky!"

"Eh?" Ryuko asked, her expression betraying her obvious confusion.

"That's what it means for a maiden to entrust her bare skin to someone!" Mako declared, finally finishing her chaotic spiel.

After a long period of silence where Ryuko stared at Senketsu in Mako's arms she began to mutter. "Senketsu… _That's_ what you're worried about?!" she gasped, almost falling over before chuckling. "I can't believe you two."

Lewis sighed a breath of relief and sat down again. "Another dangerous situation defused expertly by Mako. I shudder to think what would happen to the world if she and Ryuko didn't become friends."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Lewis had been given access to Nudist Beach's laboratories, as he told Aikuro that he wanted to repurpose the cannon he had brought with him. After finding a bunch of conveniently sized shells he had started creating a concoction of chemicals that would help turn any Life Fibres completely solid.

'So, what will happen next for us?' Kamu asked.

"I'm not exactly sure." Lewis muttered, pouring in a copious amount of green clothing dye to a bubbling crockpot of foul smelling chemicals. "I know the next event is going to be the Grand Sports and Cultural Festival Satsuki's putting on for her disgusting cow of a mother. What's going to happen to us is a mystery."

'You do not know what you are going to do?' he asked again.

"As much as I want to help save the world or whatever, I'd like nothing more than to just run away from this, let it figure itself out." Lewis said as he poured the mixture into the shells for his rifle. "But now that we've gotten ourselves involved, I don't think we can just leave. Truth be told I'm scared. Nui, Ragyo, they're both hugely destructive and dangerous opponents. I think we might be killed if we fight them directly."

'You did not include Satsuki with them. Do you no longer think she is dangerous?' Kamu observed.

"Trust me, once all this is over we'll have no reason to fear Satsuki, the Elite Four or any student of Honnouji Academy." Lewis said, screwing the lids onto the Anti-Life-Fibre Shells.

The door to the laboratory opened and Aikuro stepped through with Ryuko in tow. "Lewis, we believe we have uncovered some disturbing information."

Lewis slung his giant rifle onto his back and dumped the shells into a bag and picking it up. "About damn time."


	7. Chapter 7

Lewis clutched to the top of the speeding vehicle as he and the others charged towards Honnouji Academy. The Sports and Cultural Festival was probably underway, and plenty of people were in danger at the hands of Ragyo. Lewis knew what was going to happen. They'd charge in, fight some mooks, Ryuko would get kahlimah'd and the entire place would get blown to pieces. But there were a few problems. One, now Lewis had gone and gotten himself involved he'd actually have to involve himself in combat against Ragyo and Nui. Two, it was highly likely that he wouldn't survive. The car screamed towards the top of Honnouji Academy and Lewis squinted against the rushing wind.

"We're almost there Kamu!" Lewis shouted above the roaring wind.

'I pray that we are not too late.' Kamu said.

As they got closer and closer to the academy the roaring of the wind was overtaken by the screaming of thousands of people. The car screeched to a halt as Ryuko and Aikuro peered out of the car's windows.

"What was that screaming?" Ryuko asked.

"Sounds like it's started. Let's hurry." Aikuro said, leaping from the car and rushing over to the truck they'd brought with them. As it opened, he got into his own custom DTR. "I'll use this DTR to jump us to the stage in one go!"

Lewis got off the roof of the car and Tsumugu, Ryuko and Lewis latched onto the bipedal robot suit.

"You mean Donotori Robo?" Ryuko asked.

"DTR!" Aikuro said angrily.

"It's Donotori Robo, right?" Ryuko asked again.

"DTR!" he repeated.

"He hates that name." Tsumugu muttered quietly.

"Does it really matter? We've got people to save, so let's go!" Lewis shouted impatiently.

Aikuro nodded as the machine began to power up. "DTR, take off!"

"Have fun storming the stadium!" Mako called happily, waving them off.

The robot ascended the sheer wall to the stadium, the three other fighters clinging on for dear life. As they vaulted over the edge of the stadium, the four of them looked around in horror. Cocoons of red and black threads had completely enveloped almost everyone in the stadium, leaving an eerie silence hanging in the air. The tension was more than palpable.

With a loud crash, the DTR thudded onto the walkway behind Ragyo as Ryuko jumped off immediately.

"I'm putting an end to this, Satsuki Kiryuuin!" she declared, scissor blade at the ready. "Turn everyone back to normal!"

Jumping off the mech, Lewis slammed a shell into the cannon rifle and locked the chamber. "Let's just hope this thing works eh Kamu?" he chuckled nervously before catching a glimpse at Ragyo. "Heh. Heheheheh…"

"Oh, so you are Matoi Ryuko?" the elder Kiryuuin asked almost disinterestedly.

"Hehehehehe..!"

"I see. And is that Senketsu? The fruit of Isshin Matoi's last, futile efforts." She mocked. "I must say, I didn't expect it to be so beautiful."

"Hahahaha…"

Aikuro looked worriedly at Lewis, who was giggling pretty much uncontrollably at that point. "Hey, Lewis. What's wrong?"

"I can't even… That outfit is too stupid." Was all that Aikuro was able to grasp through Lewis's barely stifled snorts and laughs. "I don't think she should be allowed to dress herself if that's what she thinks is fashionable."

That was pretty much the last straw for Ragyo as she looked at Lewis with a glare of unbridled hatred. "And _who _might you be?"

Lewis' grin was immediately wiped off his face. "Me? Name's Lewis. No real claim to fame."

"And yet you wear a Kamui, another of Isshin's creations." She glared. "That disgusting rag he created is an abomination."

"At least he isn't a circus performer's costume." Lewis snorted under his breath. He really didn't want to get his heart ripped out or something. That'd put a major downer on his evening.

"So you're Ragyo Kiryuuin, huh? I swear, you Kiryuuins sure love to talk down to people!" Ryuko growled.

"I do. I am the one who knows everything in this world." She boasted.

"Oh I wouldn't count on that." Lewis smirked. "Anyone who must call themselves the king is no true king."

"Be silent! I am the leader of the Kiryuuin Conglomerate, Ragyo Kiryuuin-"

The haughty woman's monologue was cut quite short by a large black sword blade sticking out of her midsection.

"I totally called it!" Lewis shouted, fists raised with a sense of victory.

"What's the meaning of this, Satsuki?" Ragyo asked.

"The time for speeches is over, Director." Satsuki spat viciously before pushing the blade further in and throwing her backwards onto a giant crucifix disguised as a sculpture of the Academy's emblem.

The others stared in surprise as a rain of blood started pouring from Ragyo's chest, shocked at the turn that Satsuki had made. Lewis however, was grinning like a total idiot.

"See what I mean Kamu? No need to worry." Lewis smirked.

'It appears you were telling the truth after all.' Kamu said.

"You knew about this?" Aikuro asked as the rest of them stared in confusion and shock.

"Oh please. It was obvious what was going to happen when you knew the whole story. Context and Circumstance." Lewis grinned. "I'm just surprised that the rainbow-haired fashion victim up there didn't get it."

"At this moment, I, Satsuki Kiryuuin, along with Honnouji Academy, declare rebellion!" Satsuki bellowed.

"What… the hell?" Ryuko managed to ask, her brain still trying to catch up with the situation rapidly developing before her.

"You're trying to take the throne from me?" Ragyo asked, her words burbling through the blood leaking from her mouth.

"No, I'm not!" Satsuki shouted back. "People do not live for the sake of clothing! I, Satsuki Kiryuuin, am rising up to overthrow the Life Fibres! Honnouji Academy is the fortress I created in order to defeat you! Remember that, Ragyo Kiryuuin!"

"Satsuki's going to take down her own mother?" Ryuko asked, eyes wide in shock.

"Yep! It's the best isn't it?" Lewis laughed.

"What the hell's going on?" Tsumugu roared.

"Haven't you been listening? Geez, you'd think you weren't even paying attention." Lewis muttered.

Aikuro glared at Lewis. "Well since you seem to be grasping this situation so well, why don't you explain?"

"I'd be glad to, but it looks like Gamagori's about to take that privilege." Lewis said, pointing to one of the giant screens in the arena as it broadcast an image of Gamagori's giant face.

"Matoi. Lady Satsuki planned to fight the Life Fibres from the very beginning. But in order to deceive Director Ragyo, she couldn't let even a shred of her true intentions show." Gamagori explained.

"Then why the heck did she fight Nudist Beach and me?" Ryuko roared back.

"I have no need for half-baked allies." Satsuki said curtly. "If you can't beat my army, then you don't stand a snowball's chance in hell against the Life Fibres."

Lewis nodded. "She's right you know."

"Shut the hell up!" Ryuko shouted, grabbing Kamu and pulling Lewis closer. "Does this mean you're some kind of spy for Satsuki? Is that really how you know everything that's been going on?"

"I was kind of wondering about that myself." Lewis said. "Hey Satsuki, since you're in the mood for answering questions, how'd you know about me?"

"I have already told you that you had been watched very closely. That included putting several surveillance devices in your apartments and even your very uniforms." Satsuki said.

"Huh. Didn't think about that one. Clever girl." Lewis muttered and Ryuko let go of him.

"Damn you Satsuki!" Ryuko shouted.

"If you don't like my methods, then I'll gladly take you on _after_ I'm done here." Satsuki proclaimed. "However, if you have the resolve to protect the freedom of mankind, then fight with everything you've got for now."

A snort of laughter attracted their attention back to Ragyo. "I applaud your resolve. Are you saying you don't mind stabbing your own mother through the back to see it through?"

"It's not like she was much of a mother anyways." Lewis said, rolling his eyes.

"That goes _without_ saying!" Satsuki roared. "I'll do whatever it takes to defeat a monster like you. Call me a coward or a crook all you want. I'd love that."

"Did you just call your own mother a monster?" Ragyo asked, seemingly appalled.

"I don't think anyone who can shrug off a stab through the heart has any right to disagree." Satsuki countered. "You became a monster the moment you threw away your humanity and fused yourself with Life Fibres."

"I am no monster young lady." Ragyo said after her body, rather hypocritically, regenerated itself and snapped one of her arms clear from the crucifix effortlessly. "I am a life-form that is one step away from divinity."

With the push of a button, Satsuki resecured her mother's arm before speaking again. "That is the truth behind Life Fibres. If this battle caught your eye, burn any REVOCS clothing in your possession! With your help, we can liberate mankind!"

Lewis pulled the slide back on his rifle and let out another laugh. "I thought you'd never ask!"

"You fool. Know your place!" Rei shouted as she tried to attack Satsuki, but her strike was blocked by Gamagori.

"Not on my watch!" Gamagori bellowed before his Goku Uniform began its transformation.

"Come on Kamu, we've gotta get to a safer location." Lewis said before rushing towards one of the grandstands. "_Intel I_!"

Kamu unwrapped around Lewis' neck before snaking around his eyes, Kamu's eyes over Lewis'. 'I am surprised I am able to change into so many different forms.'

"Adaptability was probably what Isshin was going for, and scarves are highly adaptable. They're perfect for almost anything." Lewis said, turning back towards the battlefield and readying his rifle. "Okay, highlight the Elite Four, Satsuki, Ryuko, Tsumugu and Aikuro as Friendlies. Ignore the rest of Satsuki's troops. Highlight Ragyo and all of her allies as Hostiles."

After Lewis completed his commands, a hazy green outline appeared around his allies, an ominous red one emitting around Ragyo and Rei.

"Perfect. Works like a charm." Lewis said, adjusting the sights. "I just hope the prediction system works too."

Lewis spotted that Sanageyama was having a little trouble with Nui on the other side of the arena. A deep scowl went across Lewis' face as he drew a bead.

'Highlighting Nui as Hostile.' Kamu said knowingly, giving Nui an unearthly red glow.

"Calculate trajectory." Lewis said, a hazy line appearing in his vision that swayed as Nui moved.

Drawing a bead, Lewis pulled the trigger and sent a jolt of powerful recoil straight up his arm. The shell sailed towards Nui with blinding speed, but the blond fashion designer dodged out of its way, letting the speeding projectile explode on the ground not far from her. Sniffing the air, Nui put a delicate hand over her nose.

"Starches, bleaches and dyes? Such a horrid smell, and an awful colour too!" she said. "The very idea of this offends me!"

Sangageyama didn't even need to look to know that Lewis was the one who had made the shot. Although where he got that cannon he had no idea. "Stay out of this, Lewis! This is my fight!"

"Not for much longer it's not." Lewis muttered as he loaded another shot. Nui slashed down Sanageyama's middle just as Lewis finished reloading. "Damn it! I was too late!"

"You really think you can beat me just by getting a little facelift?" Nui asked.

"Yes, I do!" Sanageyama shouted as he appeared behind her, the afterimage Nui struck fading into nonexistence.

Lewis watched as the Elite Four surrounded Nui, leaving him with pretty much nothing to do. Lewis sat back on the grandstand between two very bewildered citizens as Kamu snaked back around Lewis' neck. "Well I guess Sanageyama was right. Those guys seem to have got this one."

Lewis looked around at all the people that were sitting like stunned mullets watching the fights unfold and Lewis suddenly groaned. "Honestly, these people." He grumbled before suddenly getting to his feet and shaking his fist at them. "Hey you morons, get out of here! You're all in serious danger if you stay here any longer! Can't you see this place is turning into a warzone!"

Most of the people looked around for a while before realising the acute danger that they were in. As the people began to move, Lewis was made aware of the noise coming from the centre of the arena. Looking back through his rifle scope, he was just in time to see the crucifix-sculpture shatter into pieces, a haughty laugh filling the air.

"Satsuki. All of your soldiers belong to me now." Ragyo said as brightly coloured rainbow threads began to whip through the air.

"Oh shit!" Lewis gasped. "That's Mental Refitting! Good thing we're out of range. I hope."

The masses of One Star students began to advance upon Satsuki, but Lewis noticed with particular clarity that a group of them were marching towards him!

"Alright, we're not going to miss this time. I just hope this doesn't kill them." Lewis said as he lined up his shot and pulled the trigger.

The cannon fired again with a deafening boom, sending the projectile soaring towards the advancing students. The massive shell impacted with one of the front-runners and exploded, splashing the pungent green liquid onto all of the charging students. They continued to advance, but soon the chemical cocktail took its effect and they all collapsed, still as statues with the only movement coming from their hands and faces.

"Alright, it works! A substance that will quickly harden Life Fibres upon contact!" Lewis cheered. "Tailor's Epoxy!"

Quickly getting over himself, Lewis reloaded the cannon again and scanned around the battlefield. Another loud crash from the middle of the arena caught his attention. When he saw what had happened, his jaw dropped and so did his rifle.

"Crap. Oh crap. She got Ryuko!" Lewis gasped.

Kamu scanned the battlefield as well, noticing something very alarming. 'Look! Down there!'

Lewis scoped in on the disturbance Kamu had indicated and saw that, to his horror, Nui was replicating herself. More importantly, some of them were coming for him.

"Damn it! _Intel I_!" Lewis commanded, Kamu wrapping around his face. Firing off another shot, Lewis was able to hit one of them, but that left at least four that were closing in on his position so quickly he didn't have enough time to reload.

The clones of Nui leapt up to attack Lewis, but thankfully Kamu's Prediction System was working as intended. Lewis could see where their attacks were going and simply had to move out of the way. One of the clones lunged at him with a kick, but with his newfound clarity of sight Lewis was able to grab a hold of her leg mid swing and use her to bludgeon away the other clones!

"Heh. These things don't even have a tenth of Nui's power do they? I'll be able to tear these cloth fakes to pieces with my bare hands!" Lewis smirked.

However, that smirk faded as he saw something down below. Nui was fighting a now recovered Ryuko. Leaping from his position, Lewis sprinted towards them before sliding to a stop, cannon ready to fire.

'Why are we so close? We could have easily shot them from where we were.' Kamu said.

"This has to be precise. Nui was able to dodge our attack from back there, and I don't know what kind of effect this stuff will have on Senketsu. But chances are it won't be good." Lewis said, looking down the sights. "Besides, it just wouldn't hurt as much from so far away."

As the battle progressed, Ryuko started darting around a completely stationary Nui almost faster than the eye could see. Fortunately with Kamu, Lewis was able to make a decent prediction.

Lewis was just about to pull the trigger when he hesitated. And he knew why. Lewis got to his feet and lifted the giant cannon to his shoulder.

'What are we doing? Is she important to the timeline?' Kamu asked.

"Really I don't think the timeline matters at this point. But this is Ryuko's fight. She'd get really pissed off if I intervened." Lewis muttered, taking Kamu off his eyes and putting him back around his neck. "I think we should just watch this fight unfold, just like old times."

A thunderous crack sounded from the top of the arena and Lewis' attention was invariably grabbed.

'What was that?' Kamu asked.

"Let's find out." Lewis said. "_Jetpack N_!"

Soaring up above the podium, Lewis saw Satsuki had been punched across the catwalk by Ragyo's headless torso.

'This does not seem to bode well.' Kamu muttered.

"You think?" Lewis asked as Ragyo placed her head back onto her shoulders. "Still, she won't be able to regenerate her way out of a blast of Tailor's Epoxy!"

As Lewis took aim with his cannon, a bladed sleeve of Rei's reached up and slashed the front of the cannon clean in half, sending the bright green liquid trickling out the end of the neat cut.

"What the hell?! She just doesn't stay down does she?" Lewis shouted, turning his attention to Rei. "Damn it, now I've got nothing to fire all these shells!"

Lewis could only watch as Ragyo lifted Satsuki up by the throat before pummelling her with her bare hands. With each strike, Lewis felt himself get angrier and angrier.

"Okay, Plan B!" Lewis shouted, going further up into the air before grasping a shell in each hand. "_Hand Delivery_!"

Lewis began throwing down shells, one after the other towards Ragyo, but despite his efforts none of them seemed to hit her! When Ragyo broke Bakuzan in two with a single punch, Lewis suddenly found himself without any more shells to throw!

"Crap! Come on, what are we going to do?" Lewis hissed.

It was too late to do anything. Satsuki was sent flying, and an army of white suits began to fill the sky.

"They're here." Lewis gulped.

'What… are those?' Kamu gasped.

"Those are COVERS." Ragyo announced dressed in Junketsu, dragging the almost unconscious form of her stripped daughter by her hair. "Beings born from the Original Life Fibre."

With a single grunt, Ragyo tossed Satsuki away into the grandstands, shattering the concrete.

"Crap! Is she alright?" Lewis gulped.

'You should know, shouldn't you?' Kamu asked.

"Now is not the time, Kamu!" Lewis shouted.

"How unsightly of you, Satsuki!" Ragyo mocked. "Behold the fate of fools that dare defy me-no, defy the Life Fibres!"

"You rotten bitch!" Ryuko shouted from the side.

"My thoughts exactly!" Lewis called.

"Ultimately, Satsuki was never fit to wear Life Fibres." Ragyo said, a hand going to the switches on her arm.

"Shit, she's transforming!" Lewis shouted. "We've gotta stop this! _Breaker K_!"

As the Kamu switched from Jetpack to Breaker, Lewis began to fall and scream as he did. When the transformation was complete, Lewis prepared to land a huge punch on Ragyo, but that wasn't going to happen. Once again, Rei interfered by slamming a sleeve into Lewis' side, sending him cannoning into the ground next to Ryuko just as Ragyo finished her transformation.

"You okay?" Ryuko gasped as Lewis hurriedly got to his feet.

"I think so." Lewis huffed.

"That said, that fool did bring me someone I never thought I'd meet." Ragyo said, suddenly appearing behind Ryuko and Lewis.

As they both turned, Ragyo stabbed a hand into Ryuko's chest. Lewis stumbled backwards and gasped. "Ryuko!"

Ryuko gurgled in pain and surprise as a bright sparkling light began to shine from her chest. It was soon clear to Lewis that the source of the light was Ryuko's heart. Even though he was expecting this to happen, he couldn't hide his surprise. It was terrifying to see this happen right in front of him.

"R-Ryuko?" Lewis stammered.

"Ryuko Matoi, your body has been fused with Life Fibres, just like mine." Ragyo said with relief. "And here I thought you were dead, daughter of mine!"

Lewis gulped and looked up. Even more of the COVERS were filling the sky. Lewis looked back at the scene before him and stared.

'What should we do?' Kamu asked.

"The real question is what can we do?" Lewis asked quietly.

A great shouting came from the rest of the arena as COVERS began descending and absorbing people then attacking them.

"Those idiots still haven't run away yet?! What is wrong with these people?!" Lewis screamed.

"Beautiful…" Ragyo muttered as she stared at Ryuko's beating heart. "Very few humans are merged this perfectly with Life Fibres. Truly, you are my daughter."

"Shut up!" Ryuko screamed, slicing off Ragyo's hand. "My dad is Isshin Matoi! You can't be my mother! That's impossible!"

"If I'm not, then how do you explain that body of yours?" Ragyo said with an air of finality as Ryuko's heart was sucked back into her chest cavity.

"I said shut up!" Ryuko roared, slashing at Ragyo with her scissor blade.

"Ryu-" Lewis began as Ryuko's strikes began to get faster and faster.

"Stay out of this!" she shouted feverishly.

"How very interesting!" Nui giggled, suddenly appearing behind Ryuko.

"_Breaker K_!" Lewis said through gritted teeth as Nui appeared.

"I knew there was something special about you!" Nui smiled. "You're the greatest, Ryuko!"

"Ryuko, we need to escape!" Lewis shouted.

"Hush you." Ragyo said, turning her gaze to Lewis before a spark of interest crossed her face. "Wait, could it be?"

Before Lewis could even blink, a pain like nothing he'd ever felt before burst through his chest. Lewis looked down, and immediately regretted that decision. Ragyo's arm was buried deep in his chest, her slender hand gripped around his heart.

"I never believed I'd find two of my lost family here today!" she said, almost weeping with joy.

Lewis could barely form two words together, but thankfully it seemed that Ryuko was able to speak for him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ryuko gasped.

"It was after you were born I decided to try another way of creating a being fused with Life Fibres. I believed if I tried one last time, but introduced Life Fibres during conception it would work! Unfortunately, the birth was a stillborn, and I had to throw it away." Ragyo explained, dragging at Lewis' heart. "But you lived! You lived and returned to me, my beloved son!"

As Ragyo tore Lewis' heart out completely, the whole world could see it for what it was. A mass of very red, very much human flesh and muscle, beating faster than it ever had before. Ragyo's face betrayed her surprise, as did those of everyone around her. Even through the pain, Lewis found that the only thing he could do was to burst out laughing.

"What's wrong?" Lewis coughed, thin streams of blood pouring between his teeth. "You seem surprised. You were wrong, and it hasn't been the first time today!"

Lewis howled with mad laughter again, before another cough set him back into pain.

"I don't know where you got that stupid idea that I was your son from, but I am a human, and I always have been!" Lewis shouted. "People call you a monster Ragyo, but they're wrong. Monsters are tragic creatures, born too big and too strong to live in peace with humankind. You are just a wild, dangerous animal that desperately needs to be exterminated!"

Ragyo's hand tightened around Lewis' heart. She squeezed harder and harder until it burst. Lewis' eyes widened as far as they could go as he dropped to his knees and keeled over backwards, but Ragyo grabbed Kamu from his arm.

"I have no need for failed experiments, even if they are my own family." Ragyo said angrily. "And this wretched abomination of Isshin's can go to the grave with you!"

Pulling as hard as she could, Ragyo tore Kamu in half. Ryuko's mind raced, trying to digest everything that was happening. But then, across the entire stadium, Satsuki lifted her head up.

"I'm… Not… Done yet…" She said, pushing down on the detonator she held in her hand.

The last thing Lewis saw before he blacked out was the red and orange flames of the massive explosions that rocked the earth and rattled the sky, sending everyone in the stadium flying.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Several weeks had passed since the Grand Cultural and Sports Festival. Nonon Jakuzure had just been back to Honnouji and had just found that slacker's idiot brother. Fortunately instead of slowing her down they were making better time than Nonon had initially thought, and they were back earlier than expected. It was only as they had re-entered Osaka that Nonon thought she heard something. Looking around behind her, she couldn't see anything. But she had a nasty feeling that something had followed her all the way from Honnouji.

"Come on, we're almost there." Nonon said, signalling for Mataro to hurry up.

A few minutes later and they had both made it back to the Nudist Beach secret headquarters.

"Good work. Looks like you guys had it rough too." Nonon said as she walked up next to Gamagori.

"Yeah." Sanageyama sighed.

Gamagori noticed the small child in their midst and pointed to Mataro. "Is that Mankanshoku's little brother?"

"He and his friends had been living in the sewers under Honnouji. They're an impressive pack of rats." Nonon shrugged.

"I said the name's Mataro!" the young boy shouted indignantly.

"Anyway, there's something important I needed to mention." Nonon said, ignoring Mataro's shouting. "I have a bad feeling that something's followed me back from Honnouji. I only realised it when I got back to Osaka."

"Any idea what it is?" Sanageyama asked.

"No clue, but it might not have been human." Nonon spat.

"Should we send a party to investigate?" Gamagori asked.

"If it was a COVERS scout then there's probably no time for a search party." Sanageyama said, standing to his full height. "We need to go out there now and take care of this thing!"

The three of them looked between each other and nodded.

"As much as I hate to agree with the Monkey, he's right." Nonon said.

Gamagori nodded. "I'll meet you both out there."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

A few minutes later and three of the Elite Four were poking around the wasted city of Osaka looking for whatever Nonon had spotted. After roughly a minute of searching, they reconvened.

"Anything?" Nonon asked.

"I have found nothing." Gamagori said before turning to Sanageyama, who simply shook his head.

"Does this mean it left?" Nonon asked.

"If it has then we can expect a lot more COVERS to be coming our way soon. I'll go tell the others that we need to fortify our position." Gamagori said.

"Hold it!" Sanageyama said, putting a hand out. "I think I can sense it. It's still here!"

All three of them turned to see the thing that had followed Nonon from Honnouji. A large humanoid thing, about the same size as Gamagori but devoid of any facial features and clothing seemingly completely comprised of blood red Life Fibres that sat lazily on top of a pile of rubble.

"That's it?" Nonon asked with a haughty snort. "It looks like an artist's mannequin gone wrong."

"Is it some new type of COVERS?" Gamagori asked, putting a hand on the grip of his sword.

The humanoid thing dropped from its seat on the rubble and walked towards the three, who readied their weapons.

"Stay right where you are!" Gamagori bellowed.

Much to their surprise, the figure stopped. The three Elites looked between each other as the figure showed no sign of moving.

"What do we do with it?" Sanageyama asked.

"Doggy will probably want to study this thing. It's not a COVERS, that's for sure." Nonon said.

"If we destroy it now, it may save us from danger later." Gamagori suggested.

The large red figure began to pulse. The fibres began to shift and twist, unravelling from around the figure. The thing opened up at the centre and revealed a single person that stepped out of the giant mass of life fibres, and the three elites knew who it was.

Lewis, dressed in the same style of white suit that the COVERS took the form of, smirked at the three elites as they gawked. He only said two words.

"I'm. Back."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Only seconds after the destruction of the stadium and Lewis had been thrown entirely clear, bouncing painfully off the ground as he tumbled down Honnouji, eventually landing somewhere in the One Star district. His vision was barely functioning, as was his brain. His heart had been torn out and everything ached. Kamu had been ripped in two and Lewis felt like he was about to die. For real this time.

Then Lewis saw something flutter down from the sky. At first he thought it was a COVERS, but then again his vision couldn't be good. But as it got closer, Lewis' failing eyes grew wide.

"K-Kamu…" Lewis wheezed as the sentient fabric landed on his soon-to-be corpse.

Lewis couldn't even move his arms to touch Kamu as he stared into the darkening sky.

'So this is where it all ends? Guess I wasn't going to survive this. Maybe I wasn't supposed to. I'm not even supposed to be here after all…' Lewis thought as his vision faded.

Kamu's single eye looked at Lewis in horror. He had a feeling that if Lewis died, he wouldn't last much longer, as he was torn in half and losing blood quite quickly. Then he remembered Aikuro's words.

'Kamu is a human in the body of Life Fibres! Kamu is like a human, and has a heart all of his own!'

'Scarves are very adaptable. They're perfect for almost everything.'

'I hope you are right about that. Friend.' Kamu thought. 'If I have a heart all of my own, then maybe my heart will beat for two!'

Slowly and painstakingly, Kamu crawled down into Lewis' chest cavity and coiled up, connecting to the major blood vessels in Lewis' body. With a great shout of effort, Kamu began to pump.

A few days later, a single COVERS floated down over Lewis' body and looked over it. It opened up, revealing a single thread that was about to latch onto Lewis' body and drag it inside the COVERS, but then something it didn't anticipate happened. The body latched onto the COVERS. Lewis' eyes snapped open and he pulled with the ferocity of a man possessed at the thing's sleeves and dragged the COVERS into his still open wound in his chest. Kamu's single eye opened and part of him unravelled and grasped the small red tendril of the COVERS before dragging it inwards. Soon the COVERS had turned from its usual white colour to a ball of red string that Lewis held in his hands.

Lewis was shocked at what happened. "It… Deconstructed?" he said wearily. "Wait, I'm alive?"

Kamu let out a sigh of both relief and effort. Lewis looked down and saw that Kamu's eye was covering the hole that Ragyo had made in his chest.

"Kamu! What happened?" Lewis asked.

'I was broken. We both were. After that… woman tore out your heart, she ripped me in two. Neither of us would have survived if I did not decide to become your heart.' Kamu said. 'But I am still weak. Please friend, feed me those Life Fibres.'

Lewis stared at the glowing ball of red fibres in his hands and nodded. "I have no idea how this is going to turn out, but okay."

Lewis held the glowing ball to his chest, and Kamu began to connect to the other Life Fibres.

'So what will we do?' Kamu asked.

Lewis sat back on the ground and looked up to the ruins of Honnouji Academy. "Satsuki's imprisoned. The others have all relocated to Osaka."

As Lewis thought, he heard the quiet sound of footsteps through the streets. He saw both Mataro and Guts running through the streets, trying to avoid the gaze of the COVERS. Lewis looked back up to the sky and saw that the white suits were descending once again.

'Perhaps not everyone.' Kamu said.

Lewis put a hand over Kamu and thought. "Kamu. I don't exactly know how, but it seems you've gained the ability to deconstruct and repurpose Life Fibres. Those COVERS are entirely composed of Life Fibres. I think I have an idea."


End file.
